The residents of Mooiplaas and Spruit informal settlements in Centurion received food parcels on Wednesday morning.
Thanks to donations from the Tshwane Muslim Community and the Sutherland Ridge, Ikon Park and Westhills business communities, 8 000 food hampers were made up for families who are in desperate need of food.
Also read: Covid-19: How Social Development is helping the most vulnerable
It was clear that the need for food was extremely high in the area as people started gathering at 6am and at times the queue was about 3km long.
Social activist Yusuf Abramjee said coordination of the distribution went off smoothly and social distancing was adhered to by most.
“We thank all the role-players and the community for the joint effort.
“The need for food is massive.
“Over 80 per cent of this community are foreigners and they have not received any assistance from the government.
“We are happy we made a small difference,” said Abramjee.
Business leader Smiley Essa said he was happy that the 8 000 food hampers will make a difference in these daunting times.
“We are looking at ways of expanding the aid over the coming days to neighbouring areas,” Essa said.
Asgar Akoob of the United Muslim Forum said a lot of work still needs to be done and thanked the various donors and volunteers.
“The lockdown is far from over and levels of hunger are growing by the day.
“Let’s continue to make a difference wherever we can,” he said.
Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.