Covid-19: Dainfern residents share bags of love with Diepsloot residents
DAINFERN – Over 80 families donated generously to their vulnerable neighbours in Diepsloot.
The Dainfern community donated van-loads of food, hygiene products and winter woollies to the Diepsloot community on 22 April.
The community-driven project, initiated by Dainfern resident Susan Harwood of the Bags of Love charity, has seen over 80 families open their hearts and give of their resources to help their neighbours in need.
Harwood said, “When lockdown was applied, many of us in Dainfern felt devastated to hear the news of our neighbours in Diepsloot and other areas across Gauteng facing starvation and severe deprivation.”
Prior to the start of the drive, Bags of Love sought to provide gently-worn handbags filled with essential hygiene products to vulnerable members of the population. Harwood’s charity has also supplied dignity packs for rape survivors and collected pre-loved matric dance dresses for distribution to those who cannot afford them, amongst other things.
Harwood said that before the lockdown, residents helped supply security staff at the Dainfern Estate with hygiene items and nutritious meals.
Their most recent drive sought to rally together donations from residents through posts on the Dainfern Residents Facebook page and an appeal on the Dainfern Outreach group on WhatsApp. Residents provided sandwiches, food parcels, winter woollies and more to vulnerable community members. They also donated 300 winter scarves from Steyn City’s 67 Blankets for Mandela Day SA initiative organised by Lynton Leferve.
Harwood explained that residents brought their deliveries to two locations within the estate, where they were sorted before Gillian and Jason Rom from Storage Hub in Cedar Square collected donations and distributed them in Diepsloot.
Residents ensured that they adhered to lockdown regulations while donating.
“We generated a response from numerous families who will be donating food parcels and making fresh sandwiches weekly to be handed out by the Storage Hub team to children in various townships and informal settlements and further afield every week,” said Harwood, adding that this coming week, Bags of Love would help them put together dignity packs for teens and women in the hardest-hit areas.
Harwood challenged other estates within the Fourways area to follow suit.
Donations from Dainfern residents can be dropped off during the week for collection and delivery on Wednesdays.
For more information, email Susan Harwood on harwoods@netactive.co.za
