Ageing With Wisdom nourishes elderly SASSA recipients
Ageing With Wisdom’s soup kitchen now serves warm meals at Pan Africa Shopping Centre, offering relief and dignity to pensioners facing hunger and exhaustion after queueing for hours to get their SASSA grants.
After hours in slow-moving queues to collect their SASSA grants, many elderly Alexandra residents would go hungry, especially those with chronic illnesses who need food to take their medication.
But not anymore, especially since the Ageing With Wisdom Region E Elderly Forum brought their soup kitchen to Pan Africa Shopping Centre on Thursday, offering warm meals to every senior citizen who had just received their pension.
Forum member Ellen Chauke, who oversees the transport portfolio, said the initiative was born out of a harsh reality of some elderly residents, who wake as early as four in the morning and wait for hours before retail stores open.
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“Some of them are diabetic and leave home without eating breakfast. Their health conditions, compounded by hunger, put them at risk of fainting,” she explained.
To address this problem, the forum decided to serve food specifically to those who arrive early and endure long waits.
“Some don’t have anything at home. They don’t even come with lunch boxes or anything,” Chauke added.
She painted a grim picture of life for many elderly residents in Alexandra.
“Remember, the SASSA grants run out quickly. Sometimes they don’t even have the means to make bread for lunch. That’s why we’re doing this.”
Since its inception, the programme has become a lifeline for pensioners who endure hours in slow-moving queues.
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“We spend hours in line. The queues are often slow. We eventually go in, but by then we’re already tired and starved,” said senior resident Johanna Mbedzi, who praised the initiative.
The recent soup kitchen was held in partnership with Easypay Financial Services. Team leader Sicelo Sifuba commended the programme, noting their ongoing support.
“We felt it was a great initiative and asked to join them. We offered them space to work.” He emphasised that the initiative serves all pensioners at the pay points, not just Easypay clients.
“It’s for everyone who comes to collect their money, and I support it fully.”
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