Durban councillor calls on community to support care pack campaign

FLEDGLING Durban North organisation, Ukunika (to care) recently partnered with SUPERSPAR Eastmans to streamline their care pack collections.

The organisations, which was founded by Ward 35 councillor, Nicole Bollman, was created in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, when Bollman saw a need to collect care packs for essential workers.

With various care packs and donations streaming in, Bollman decided to pre pack packs to ensure beneficiaries receive the uniform care packs. These are now pre packed and easy for the public to pick up at the front of the store during their grocery shop.

“Our current objective is to collect 1000 hampers but we are hopefully we end up with much more than that,” said Bollman, who added that they have delivered care packs to the La Lucia clinic and to the SAPS in Durban North where 130 packages were sent.

The community can support the initiative by purchasing a care pack from the SPAR before dropping it into the dedicated collection trolley at the front of the store.

Also read: uMhlanga ward councillor collects care packs for frontline workers

“We found that we needed to make the content uniform. We found that care packs were coming in valued at varying amounts ranging from R50 to R300. In order to facilitate the bigger organisations, we decided to make the packs uniform, That’s why we are so grateful to Eastman’s Spar for coming on board. We have collaborated and really put a lot of thought into what goes into our packs. Eastmans has also come on board in giving us he items at cost price,” said Bollman.

Jeethan Jungbahadur, store manager at SUPERSPAR Eastmans: “We partnered with Ukunika in this project to give thanks and appreciation to the essential workers in our community. To make this a success, we need our community to come together and show their support and appreciation. By purchasing a hamper which we have put together in the store, with all the goodies to warm a persons heart. This will not only put a smile on our essential workers face but ensure the time, hard work and risk they took would not go unnoticed.”

Also read: Care packs delivered to Durban North pharmacists

Nicole Bollman started Ukunika at the end of December when New Years celebrations were cancelled due to the lockdwon.

“I was sitting at home feeling sorry for myself because I wasn’t with friends, but also doing some introspection and remembering the year that had gone by and the people who had come into my life and those I’d lost as well as the amount of sacrifice essential workers had made. From our police to our medical services and paramedics and even DSW- they had put themselves out there in a time of immense pressure in a time of complete unknown to protect us and serve us, the general public,” she said.

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