Drip by drip the smallest droplets amass to fill the largest of troughs.
Members of Roodekrans Neigbourhood Watch (RNW) and partners, Helderkloof Neighbourhood Watch (HKNW) dug into their pockets, pulling out heaps of essentials for struggling friends and families. The two community groups held a drive-by food collection operation on July 9, picking up little beacons of hope left in the driveways of the generous.
Patrollers gathered in the Wilro Park Pick n Pay parking area shortly before 19:00 to discuss routes and go through the strict coronavirus protocols. Roughly 20 patrollers tackled multiple routes, crisscrossing their familiar territory as they tracked down the pinned locations that neighbours had signalled via the WhatsApp groups. By 21:00, the mission had been successfully completed, amassing far more than expected.
To prevent any further spread of the virus that has made this type of initiative necessary, those donating placed their packages at the edges of their driveways where patrollers would exit their vehicles to pick them up. Before doing so, patroller were careful to sanitise the groceries and non-perishables before loading them up and taking them back to RNW headquarters.
“This all started out quite small. We didn’t expect it to explode the way it did. A massive thank you to everyone who got behind the initiative,” said organiser, Debbie Rothmann. The items filled much of the RNW boardroom and will be sanitised again before distributed to those who need them most.
