Bellair resident on a mission to start a community centre

A BELLAIR community leader appeals for the donation of a structure to house a community centre he believes is a dire need in the area.

Freddie Kruger started the Saving Our People Charity Fund in 2019 to assist people with basic needs. “We specialise in disaster relief. We assist those in need with household items, bedding and clothing to help get them back on their feet.”

He also started a soup kitchen to feed the hungry after witnessing some homeless men fighting over a crust of dry bread thrown in the street. “We used to be operational every second day but stopped when we realised we were feeding people who didn’t want to work, not just the needy. We now open the kitchen on special days.”

He also runs a skills development programme through his company. “We take on a few people every year and upskill them. This year, we have four enrolled in our programme, and last year we had six. We teach them to do tiling, basic plumbing, cabinet-making, kitchen-fitting and bricklaying.”

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Not content to rest on his laurels, he now feels it is time to step up his civic duty a notch and is looking for someone to donate a piece of property and a house.

“I want to put up a community centre that offers trauma counselling and help with domestic abuse and that has a soup kitchen that can be operational 24/7.”

During lockdown, he was feeding over 400 people a day at his soup kitchen. “We started with nothing. The Renegades Bikers Club donated a lot of soup, and I first approached car guards in the area. Within 10 days, we were feeding over 300 people a day.”

Freddie, who is the chairman of the Sector Two CPF and involved in the Seaview street patrollers, has been living in the area since he was two years old, and it is easy to see he is someone who takes his civic duty seriously.

If you can help him in his quest to open a community centre, call him on 067 677 7158.