It’s raining soup on the North Coast

A river of soup and food, prepared by loving hands the length and breadth of the Dolphin Coast, is pouring into impoverished communities as the coronavirus lockdown enters its fourth week.

More than 500 litres of home-made soup and ready-made meals made by residents, together with essential provisions donated by businesses, are being distributed every day to places where residents, most out of work and without income, are desperate for help.

“The North Coast Courier Orphan Fund has been inundated with donations and offers of help from residents of all the major estates and individuals in Ballito,” said fund organiser Jane Armstrong.

“Brettenwood Estate, with the help of the soup group and estate management, is serving as a major collection point for donations from the public. From there the police, Fidelity Security, the Dolphin Coast Residents and Ratepayers Association, Cllr

Privi Makhan, and others with permits to move about, have been delivering food daily to where it is needed.”

Karen Doveton of Brettenwood said she had been bowled over by the response to the appeal for soup and food. The estate is allowing the group to use its chest freezers to store soup and food until it can be distributed.

The 500 litres of soup alone – a conservative measure of what is being distributed – gives about 2 000 people at least one meal a day.

Cllr Makhan said in all the areas she had visited – Taffeni, Shaka’s Head, Nkobongo, Etete and Groutville – there were people crying out for food.

“The situation is really desperate for them, because they have no money and cannot work. We are only doing what we can.”

Umhlali Saps, under the direction of Col Naidoo and Capt Pillay, have played a crucial role in distributing food to the deeper inland areas of the region, where families – many of them migrant workers – are far from shops, without money and are destitute.

All food workers have acknowledged the generous support they are receiving from the major supermarkets, which have long played a vital role in donating food to charity.

Orphan Fund founder Rose Stephenson said she believed the response to a call for soup has been nothing short of a miracle.

“God is at work in our community. To God be the glory, great things He is doing.”

She said to contact Jane Armstrong on orphanfund@northcoastcourier.co.za if you can offer help in any way.

* Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news

Dear reader,

As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments.

As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed.

Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol.

A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.

Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).

Do you want to receive news alerts from The North Coast Courier via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 061 718 4438.