Charity event a success with support from Patriarch Theodore II
“It’s our job to try and add something special in the form of a hot meal, a pair of shoes."
A charity event held in Berea was made all the more special when Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria assisted in handing donations to Grace Community Centre and Booysens Squatter Camp.
ALSO READ: Caxton publications, businesses team up to spread Christmas cheer
The November 15 event was made possible when representatives from the AJP Group, Aspen Pharmacare and Miss Earth South Africa Programme came together.
CEO of AJP Group John Baladakis said that with his headquarters based in Alexandria, Egypt, the Patriarch, who is the Christian Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa, visits SA every two to three years.
“His visit is based on a rotation of visits he makes to the entire African continent where he is represented via archbishops, parishes and various projects such as clinics and schools,” said John.
He said Grace Community Centre is a project that has long been funded and supported by the members of the SA Hellenic community under the auspices of the Orthodox Archbishop of Johannesburg and Pretoria, his Eminence Damaskinos.
“This was a visit to see his beloved children and the centre,” highlighted John.
He said the help provided to Booysens Squatter Camp is an ongoing project supported by Catherine Constantinides, the director of Miss Earth South Africa.
“As Catherine is a Greek and an Orthodox Christian, we as a community of Hellenes appreciate her work and super proud of her achievements,” said John.
“We felt it correct to support her plight.”
Ella Bella Constantinides, of the Miss Earth South Africa Programme, said an Eastern Orthodox family has run Grace Community Centre for many years.
She said Christina Vougiouklis Klein has operated the centre since 1999.
Ella Bella said the centre houses, feeds and looks after 30 children daily and has a feeding scheme that caters for 100 children three times a week.
She said besides assisting Grace Community Centre, Catherine has worked in refugee camps in the Western Sahara Refugee for over eight years.
She also assists with weekly feeding programmes in Primrose, Wychwood, Germiston, Orange Farm, Lenasia, Turfontein, Rosettenville, Forest Hill, Hillbrow and Booysens Informal Settlement.
Catherine, also known as @ChangeAgentSA, believes strongly in working together for the greater good of people and the planet.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, what religion or culture you associate with, as long as you do your best, you do not harm others, you give when you can and you love all the time, you will see everyone as your equal and you can’t go wrong,” said Catherine.
Catherine said it is not humane how the residents of Booysens Squatter Camp must live.
“It’s our job to add something special as a hot meal, a pair of shoes or these amazing Christmas food hampers from Aspen and Pick n Pay,” she said.
“To have his Holiness with us just amplifies what we are doing, and that is a special link between our spiritual beliefs and our human rights activism.”
Speaking on what the patriarch’s involvement on the day meant, John said: “We are honoured and humbled by his presence. He is a great leader on the African continent. His presence and blessings are invaluable contributions to humanity.”
John said overall the day went very well.
He thanked Jackie Tau of Aspen Pharmacare, Pick n Pay, The Grace Centre operational director, its staff as well as Catherine and the Miss Earth South Africa team.
In giving insight into the patriarch’s visit to SA, John said it was primarily focused on providing encouragement and support to the South African people during the pandemic.
“One objective of the visit was to present an award to President Cyril Ramaphosa for his contribution towards fighting the pandemic on the African continent,” said John.
The patriarch also presented the title of High Commander of the Order of The Apostle and Evangelist Mark of the Patriarchate of Alexandria to Dr Stavros Nicolaou for his contributions to fighting the pandemic while appointing three new patriarchal representatives (Archons).
The recently appointed archons are John Baladakis, John Philippou and N Giokos.
The patriarch assessed the religious needs of the Southern African Orthodox communities in SA and its neighbouring countries.
John said some of the Orthodox communities included Romanian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian, Cypriot, Hellenic Greek and Lebanese.
