Paying It Forward In Paarl And Wellington

Visit Paarl and Visit Wellington distributing food donated by CAPE EPIC to seven charity organisations in the communities during lockdown. Photo: Peridot Communicaions

The towns of Paarl and Wellington are revealing the deep compassion that lies at the heart of their communities during the lockdown period by providing shelter and food to the homeless, elderly and vulnerable children.

According to CEO Annelize Stroebel, they have been overwhelmed by the generosity and commitment shown by businesses and the NGO sector. “I have always believed that a closed hand is unable to receive, while an open hand can be filled to overflowing and the past two weeks have been testament to that. We have been humbled by the compassion and contributions made throughout our region and would sincerely like to thank all involved. The crisis is however not yet over and we urge communities to continue with their support. We would like to encourage you to make contributions from the safety of their homes to ensure that we can continue to provide meals and improve food security in our much-loved region.”

Visit Paarl and Visit Wellington had the privilege of assisting the ABSA Cape Epic to distribute food and meals to the race’s host towns of 2020 after this year’s race was cancelled due to the Corona virus pandemic. This tremendous gift was eagerly received and was used to provide some relief to seven organisations in our region that take care of less privileged children and the elderly.

Drakenstein Municipality has been working around the clock to support communities in need through soup kitchens and shelters. They have also established donation and distribution networks and strategically erected water tanks in the 41 informal settlements in the region. These tanks are filled regularly to provide water for drinking and washing hands.

The municipality’s soup kitchen project was a well-established operation servicing eleven points throughout the municipal area before the Corona crisis and subsequent national lockdown. Over 900 people are registered at these kitchens and provincial assistance will help the local government to provide additional food resources through food hampers.

The Paarl fire station in Berg River Boulevard has been identified by the municipality as a central point for receiving and distributing donations from the public. A drive-through system is in place and donations of food, soap and essential supplies can be dropped off without leaving your vehicle between 8:00 and 17:00 from Monday to Friday (weekends and public holidays excluded). All donations and distributions are logged meticulously.

Items required are hand sanitisers, hand soaps, face masks, disposable gloves, cleaning materials such as bleach, any disinfectants, washing powder, hand paper towels, toiletries including sanitary pads, white A4 paper in ream packaging, non-perishable foods, long-life milk, toilet paper, roll-up mattresses, bottled water and blankets.

A list of food items drawn up with the help of a nutritionist that will assist in feeding a family of four for a month is also available. Find a list of these items by clicking on the following link: https://www.wellington.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/here.pdf

“We pay tribute to the charities that have been working around the clock during this time and have provided more information and banking details for HEART, Aunty Pat’s Nederburg Soup Kitchen, Project Homeless, Ma’s vir Wellington and VALCARE should you want to make a direct contribution or assist in any way,” concludes Stroebel.

For more information about worthy causes and the charities that support them, please visit www.paarlonline.com and www.wellington.co.za or follow us on social media.

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