Alberton reaches out to Amanzimtoti
Like so many times before, Albertonians proved this is a community one can be proud of when they opened their charitable hearts and delved deep into their pockets for those affected by looting in KwaZulu-Natal.
The tide of protesting and looting across large areas of Gauteng and even more severely in KwaZulu-Natal had severe effects on the residents of the affecting areas.
The tidings of the hardships suffered by these people touched the residents of Alberton.
“This all started from a call I made to my cousin to check if they were okay as they live in Warner Beach. He said his family was alright but that there were people in their community and in Amanzimtoti that were desperate for food and essentials,” said Roy Matheson, a resident of Alberton.
“That night Eugene van der Merwe and I decided we would make a plan and take some goods down in our own vehicles, not knowing the donations would be as much as it was. Needless to say, we ended up sending our company truck. I was heartbroken by how they were left stranded.
“I broke down on the phone.”
Albertonians rise to the occasion
Upon receiving the news of their struggles on July 16, they decided to call on the people of Alberton to help him in assisting the community in Amanzimtoti. They shared their request across community and security groups.
“I was amazed by how many people reached out to me,” said Roy.
Over the span of the weekend, donations streamed in to help the people of Amanzimtoti.
“We received donations of over R40 000, with another R20 000 in food.”
The donations were all collected and on July 20 the donations were loaded into a truck and driven down to be distributed in Amanzimtoti.
“Donations ranged from food to pet supplies, medicine, diapers and formula. The supplies in total were enough to fill a four-ton truck. It was amazing to have done something like this. I am super proud to be an Albertonian.”
Grateful recipients
“There were supplies for two of our animal shelters and we were able to make 100 food parcels, with extra left over for people in need,” said Gavin Frankenberg from Amanzimtoti.
“Nappies and formula were also sent down. I feel the Alberton community can be very proud of themselves. The people in Amanzimtoti are still saying thank you on the Toti community group. The truck arrived on June 20 to help our town.”
