DURBAN North Methodist Church collected 100 crochet blankets over the festive period. The hand-made creations, which were set up to form a Christmas tree in the church last year, were donated to various organisations on recently.
Madeline Pearson, a church member who helped to organise the initiative said the blankets, which were crochet by members of the congregation, were donated to NPOs assisting children and the elderly.
“There are 10 orphanages in Groutville which is near Stanger and about 30 odd blankets are going there. We are also giving them some clothes because they need clothes for adults. We gave NPO, Imiseba Ilanga, 33 blankets. The Durban North Baby Home are getting 35,” she said.
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Jo Teunissen of the Durban North Baby Home collected 35 blankets to distribute to the Hammarsdale and Umlazi baby homes.
Xolani Gazu of NPO, Imiseba Ilanga, collected blanket donations.
“These blankets will help us a lot. The main beneficiaries are people over the age of 60. With winter coming, it’s going to be very useful to them. Even though some of the elderly people are receiving SASSA grants, they have a lot of beneficiaries relying on them. Food is a major problem. They bear a lot of responsibility. They have grandchildren. We have showed them how to grow vegetables in gardens,” he said.
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Another Inanda resident running an NPO in the area is Bane Mtshali who was among those collecting blankets at the church.
“A lot of people are not working. There is a lot of gender-based violence because people are gathering at home instead of going to work. They struggle, even for small things like bread – they have to fight for it,” she said.
Church member, Elizabeth Nicolai made several blankets to contribute toward the cause. She has also been involved with the Durban North Crisis Feeding Scheme for 30 years.
“We have funding from the Netherlands, from a trust there, and for all these years we have been distributing food in various parts of Inanda. I have seen the absolute disparity and the need. There are grannies who are cold and little babies who are cold. I think the blanket donation is a wonderful idea,” said Nicolai.
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