KRAAIFONTEIN
Woensdag, 8 Julie 2020 | Tel: 021 910 6500 | e-pos: nuus@tygerburger.co.za
@TygerBurger
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Rugby heroes lend a hand
The DHL Stormers along with Western Cape premier Alan Winde (centre front) helped to set up the new Covid-19 field hospital in Brackenfell last week. Read more on page 3.
LOCKDOWN: HEART WRENCHING SCENES IN POOR COMMUNITIES
Food crisis looms
DESIRÉE RORKE @dezzierorke
A
humanitarian food crisis is staring local communities in the face, and with just enough funds left to feed 10 500 people for a few more days, disaster aid volunteers are scratching their heads for solutions. About 21 500 meals are made and distributed twice a week to vulnerable places like Scottsdene, Wallacedene and Bloekombos by 67 volunteers from the Brackenfell/Kraaifontein Community Action Network (Bracken-Kraai CAN). But this is just a drop in the bucket according to co-founder of the network, Lynn Hendricks. “The situation is dire and becoming worse
rather than better. Government food support is limited and countless are unemployed, with the number of people needing food increasing weekly,” she says. As the pandemic continues to ravage through the city, volunteers often take in heart-wrenching scenes. One such was in Wallacedene last weekend, where 700 children lined the flooded streets in icy cold weather to collect a hot cup of soup and two slices of bread. This would be their only meal for the day. “Most of them were scarcely dressed and exposed to the cold, many without shoes. It was heartbreaking to see the little children suffering. Their small hands were so icy cold to the touch, when you put hand sanitiser on. “But you know you will at least leave them
not hungry for one more day,” says Hendricks. Hendricks and two other women founded Bracken-Kraai CAN three months ago. At the time they would cook two big pots of soup and head into the streets every day to feed the hungry. “As the crisis deepened, the need grew exponentially. We were quickly overwhelmed with thousands more needing food.” The women started a local WhatsApp group and other volunteers soon joined up and started cooking from their homes, while others distributed the meals. “We started receiving donations from the community and other NGOs to keep our kitchens running, but the supply is definitely less than the demand,” she says. The network now has 40 community kitch-
ens, but as funds dry up, with only R2 700 cash left in their coffers and pantries running empty, the network is in dire straits. “Our reserves are on empty and many of our volunteers, despite safety protocol, have already been infected with Covid-19, but what do we do? “Do we carry on feeding the poor and educate them on how to curb the spread of the coronavirus or do we stop because we are afraid?” she asks, making an urgent plea for support. Bracken-Kraai CAN forms part of a bigger informal group called Cape Town Together (CTT), that used social media platforms, Facebook and WhatsApp to establish neighbourhood-level interventions in different areas of the City. V To page 2