MyPE

Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

Todays Real Hero

By

A chance meeting while attending a function at Dower College a month before Christmas led me to meet a selfless man who to me deserves the hero accolade for this century. His name is Ronald Rondganger and with some other willing people, he has set up a Community Clinic in Cleary Park Shopping Centre, caring for the terminally ill, Rape Trauma victims, victims of Child abuse and anyone who is too poor to seek help elsewhere.

His daily routine is:

  • 06.30 – 08.30 visit the terminally ill in their homes (likes the fact that families want to look after their relatives out of hospital so they may die with dignity)
  • 08:30 – 15:30 At clinic giving help to the needy, sometimes this may mean taking someone to casualty at one of the government hospitals.
  • 15:30 – 20:30 Hospital visits if required

And this happens 7 days a week.

He manages all this without his own transport and has a pool of over 50 DR’s who donate 1 hour of their time per month to his centre, 2 social workers who give their services free, 2 registered nursing sisters who just need transport costs, a psychologist, a psychiatrist, and 2 counsellors give their services as required, and he assists children with learning disabilities and has just acquired the services of a remedial English teacher.

All this takes time and effort and above all money and small donations have kept him in business so far, but he is running out of money as he no longer has time to work, and has been funding most of the project himself. His main requirements are transport, so he does not have to incur the ambulance service costs, and a printer so he can print off patients records/history when referring them to other hospitals/medical help.

It would also be a great help if there could be some good artist that could paint a mural on the wall of the abused child area and a TV/DVD  and sofa would make the place more friendly for the children there are soft toys and hard chairs at present.

Recent shocking cases through his clinic have been an abandoned baby (2 hours old when found) doing well now in a safe location, an 81 year old man left to fend for himself outside, (unfortunately may be terminally ill, and now at Livingstone Hospital), a nine month pregnant lady who had been raped, a child who had their hands placed on an electric ring for being ‘bad’. These are just a few of the many cases passing through the centre daily, all dealt with with compassion and care and all are followed up by Ronald at whatever facility they are at until, a resolution is found.

There is also HIV/Aids testing and counselling available and TB testing as required.

Any publicity and help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

David Hessey
ECGLA

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Port Elizabethan

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