Cape Town - Volunteerism an already defining characteristic among the majority of South Africans, has increased markedly during the countrywide lockdown.
Some people called it the Spirit of Madiba, because on Mandela Day South Africans volunteer 67 minutes of their time for a good cause; others call it Ubuntu, because of the African spirit of sharing and caring - the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown has people across the country stepping forward to ease the burden of others.
Several organisations, already well established, and those arising from the need to offer relief during the lockdown have noted an increase in donors and volunteers during this time.
Franschhoek Community Forum co-ordinator Ashley Bauer said: “We have had a few major fires in the area over the past few years and have always activated some form of disaster management in providing assistance and supporting disaster management with shack fires and floods. So that culture of ‘let’s all help each other’ is very strong.”
Bauer said currently there was a food supply project with chefs and a group of volunteers who distribute food to the community.
He added: “We are also making use of people who are stuck at home with sewing machines with no income. They receive raw materials, they’re making the masks and are receiving a certain amount of money per mask. We’re all working under our greater banner so that we can meet the needs of our community.”
The marketing and public relations officer at online fundraising platform BackaBuddy, Zane Groenewald, said: “While our economy has come to a halt and many things seem uncertain, the South African spirit remains intact.
“It has been amazing to see how the public have stepped up to help those in need, even with social distancing and the lockdown.”
Riedwaan Blake of the The Parkwood Estate Islamic Society, along with community leaders, came together to see how they would be able to distribute food items to the most vulnerable in their community, especially during the countrywide lockdown.
Blake said: “80% of our people are unemployed, so the first week after grant payments they should be okay. Our concern was what happened after that. We started to go door by door to obtain the data of the most vulnerable. Just this act alone brought calm to our community.
“Our people do care and it’s about time we all work together. This lockdown is so beneficial in many aspects. We’re seeing Ubuntu - the spirit of caring and sharing. We hope to continue and work closely together for the benefit of our people,” Blake said.
For each day of the lockdown, 1200 bread loaves are distributed in the community.
Soup and bread is served every night by the Bonteheuwel Development Forum led by community activist Henriette Abrahams.
Abrahams said: “It’s our attempt to assist the vulnerable during the lockdown. We work in partnership with our community health-care workers to get much-needed parcels to our sick and vulnerable, and are therefore more organised.”
Danny Diliberto, founder of Ladles of Love which was established in 2014, said: “We started with one soup kitchen every Tuesday and we’ve just grown over the last five years. We were serving on average over 100 meals a week and we grew to over 4000 meals a week.
“We’re about serving freshly prepared nutritious meals to the homeless community of Cape Town, and we also assist underprivileged schools with food.
“Our purpose now is to assist the city and the homeless community with food during the lockdown period. A lot of them have no access to money and no access to food. It’s been amazing watching people come together.
“Everyone has been so keen to help. There is a huge amount of camaraderie. I feel that with people not having to rush around, we realised who we are as human beings, and that is people who care about each other.”
@TheCapeArgus