Morgenrood Group helps the needy

The Ben Morgenrood Feed the Community project is in full swing and the company is proud to report they are starting to make a difference.

Businesses and the community have opened their hearts, supporting the project fully.

Last Friday (27 March) Maryna Lutt and Ritha Struwig of the Ben Morgenrood Group invited the herald along to see what a massive feeding project like this entails.

The day started early with a quick stop at the garage for some energy drinks. The first stop of many was at Aranda, where manager Geof Peroni handed over 60 blankets.

The next stop was at Sungate Farms where a crate of vegetables including carrots, pumpkins, lettuce and cabbage was donated. Thereafter the team headed to Krugersdorp where André and Renata Herbst from DIA Motors donated non-perishable foods and some home décor and curtains.

Next on the route was Westgate Meat Market where Brian Venter (owner and manager) donated about 10kg minced meat. Bridge Butchery’s owner Augir Pereira also committed to helping out weekly with some meat.

The collection vehicle was loaded almost to capacity at this stage, but the route was not completed yet. A stop at the Fruit and Veg Market yielded some bread, eggs and potatoes. The last collection was at Killarney Butchery across the street from Ben Morgenrood where owners Sam Correia and Fernando da Camara donated chickens and polony.

After all the collections were done, the team headed back to Ben Morgenrood. Everyone jumped in and helped to sort and divide the huge amount of food and items and packed it back into the van. The excitement was tangible as the team got ready to distribute the various items.

The first stop was at God With Us, an NPO in Middelvlei. Bettie Nkomo looks after about 30 elderly community members who either don’t have family or their families can’t look after them.

“Most of the elderly living here come from farms. They never were registered at birth, so the government does not know they exist and none of them have IDs. Without an ID you can’t claim pension,” Bettie explained.

Bettie has been staying on the plot in Middelvlei as the owners, Martie and Johan Nel, have made the property available to them.

“Unfortunately the owners have to sell the property soon and we are trying to gather the funds to buy it from them. The food and items Ben Morgenrood donates help us to use the little funds we have for things like electricity and maintenance on our broken vehicle,” Bettie explained.

Ben Morgenrood team member Maryna said, “It was sad when we had to leave all the happy faces at God With Us. Their appreciation for the little we do for them is what makes this project so worthwhile.”

The next stop was at Annetjie and Braam de Villiers’ farm just outside Westonaria. The De Villiers family has been looking after homeless and needy people for years. Most of the homeless families they help were staying at Coronation Dam.

“My father used to help people and I remember growing up there always were struggling people staying with. We help where we can and our doors are always open,” explained Annetjie. The food and blankets Annetjie and Braam received will go a long way helping the poor as these two pensioners use their entire pension most months to feed the poor.

The project is identifying more needy people every day and asks companies, businesses and communities of Randfontein, Westonaria, Roodepoort and Krugersdorp to join them and help feed the community.

“We have done the leg work, we have identified and investigated the charities to make sure they run legitimate operations. We never give cash to organisations, but instead we take the money and use it to buy food or needed items, so if you want to donate to the cause, know we will use it to benefit as many people as possible,” Maryna said.

• Details: Contact Maryna on 083 379 7350.