Rays of Hope CEO Sihle Mooi looks back on a successful year for #WarmUpAlex.
The foundation, which manages a large number of social outreach projects in Alexandra, partnered with 30 different non-profit organisations to identify the main areas of concern within the community. An initiative was launched to address each of these key concerns – #WarmUpAlex in particular aided the community during the fierce winter season.
According to Mooi, during the months of June to August this year Rays of Hope was able to clothe up to 6 000 people in addition to the distribution of blankets and food. “We wanted to make sure that even during this tough time, everyone had a sense of security and warmth.”
He added that because Alex was also prone to experiencing a number of residential fires during the winter season, the initiative was also able to assist the community with building materials and support. The most recent incident affected a family in 21st Avenue – their home burned down and the family lost everything. Not only did the foundation provide the family with building material for the rebuild but they also made a clothing and food donation.
The remaining areas of concerns addressed the distribution of food and hygiene supplies, counselling, remote learning, and Covid-19 screening and testing. “We watched in horror as people in Alexandra were not cooperating, people were all over the place and business as usual.
“There was this stereotype that Alexandra was the huge ticking time bomb that was going to kill the rest of us so while we were doing the rest of our outreach, we were screening and testing people.”
Mooi added that he was both astounded and grateful to see the community rally together while coporates stepped up to drive the outreach. “Everyone was stopped in their tracks by Covid-19 [so] being able to reach so many people and help many more is amazing,” he concluded.
Details: Rays of Hope 011 784 6214.
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