Eppie McFarlane, president: The Rotary Club of Somerset West
At the beginning of lockdown Level 3,
hunger in the Helderberg is still a major concern.
Helderberg Ubuntu Feeds and countless community organisations continue to feed the hungry, and we’d like to thank everyone who has assisted with donations into our Helderberg Ubuntu Feeds fund.
Please, do not give food, vouchers or money to the people begging at the stop streets in your residential area.
This encourages the vulnerable to leave their homes in search of food, and is against lockdown regulations.
Due to the unthinking “generosity” of the community, individual beggars at intersections have now become crowds.
They hear that a particular stop street yields food, and arrive in droves.
Then they decide that it is too far to walk back and forth from where they live, and start sleeping over.
No toilet facilities, rubbish bins, etc create a health hazard.
A further consequence of begging at stop streets in residential areas has been a rise in petty theft and burglaries.
The more people give, the more other beggars are going to arrive and some are starting to get aggressive when they aren’t given anything.
By moving from one area to another in search of food, there is an increased risk of transfer of the virus from one location to another; handing food to someone from your car is another risk of transfer of the virus, from one individual to another.
While we understand that hunger is rife, and that you would like to help, please do not hand food or donations to beggars.
Hard though it is, this action merely encourages people to leave their homes in search of food.
In the Helderberg there are many excellent organisations who are working tirelessly to feed the hungry in their communities.
They need support.Helderberg Ubuntu Feeds is an initiative to create collaboration between those who have the means to give and those who are in a position to feed the vulnerable, and to manage the logistics of the process.
The Somerset West Rotary Club has allocated a bank account to receive donations and disburse funds to pay for food parcels and meal ingredients.
Stuart Pringle and other councillors in the Helderberg also assist with connecting the supply to the need.
We have an NGO which is packing 100 food parcels a week, without charging a packing fee.
We distribute 1 400 meals a week from Vergelegen’s Stables and Camphors restaurants all over the Helderberg.
We receive 80 loaves of bread from Blue Ribbon Bakery on Fridays which go to soup kitchens and feeding schemes
if there was more, we could do more.
If you know someone in need, send us their name, phone number and where they live and we will do our best to connect them to the nearest NGO.
Send grocery vouchers to recipients phones, or contribute to the Helderberg Ubuntu Feeds fund and we will do the rest.
Please give responsibly and help us help communities to feed their vulnerable.
For information, contact Stuart Pringle by WhatsApp 082 446 1520 or email stuart.pringle@capetown.gov.za or
HelderbergUbuntu
Feeds@gmail.com
Letter on page 12