Foundation to continue feeding Olievenhoutbosch residents
Despite the large turnout, Pastor Pretorius said there was no violence on Saturday.
The Mahlasedi Foundation will continue feeding residents of Olievenhoutbosch despite claims of chaos erupting at a food parcel collection point this weekend.
Chairperson of the foundation, Pastor Bert Pretorius, said after a large number of people showed up at the Walter Sisulu Primary School, they have come up with a different plan to get the food to the residents.
“We are looking at having the food parcels delivered to the residents and not have them come and collect the food.
“We are going to get people with cars and wheelbarrows to deliver the food to the tagged residents’ houses. This way we will also be creating jobs. People will be able to feed their families and add to what we will be giving to them as well.”
Pretorius said they are still working on the plan and will start implementing the delivery system.
Despite the large turnout, Pretorius said there was no violence on Saturday.
“Our marshals, police and the SANDF were there to assist with controlling the crowd. The people were obedient and there was no disorder,” Pretorius said.
He said there was no social distancing, but law enforcement was able to disperse the people.
Pretorius said they have been feeding residents in the area for over three days.
“We have a tagging system that we use when giving the food parcels. There are about 30 000 households which we provide for. People’s IDs and passports are linked to the tag to stop people from collecting food twice.”
He said on Saturday a rumour started that it was the last day the foundation would be giving out food.
People from other areas, who did not have tags, heard about this and also came to collect parcels. It resulted in a large number of people at the school.
Metro police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba commended the foundation for how they handled the situation.
“The NGO had their marshals to control people who were queuing for food parcels. They later called the TMPD for assistance.”
Mahamba refuted the claims of a stampede or any fighting.
Acting social development MEC Panyaza Lesufi visited the site on Saturday.
Pretorius said on Sunday they were able to give food to 3 000 households, but still, have another 15 000 more to give to.
The 75kg food parcels can feed a household of four, two meals a day for a month.
“We have been having meetings with stakeholders and we are working on getting the strategy up to speed. After this project, we will assess the situation.”
Pretorius said the project was made possible by the Douw Steyn family trust and other private businesses.
Through the Douw Steyn family trust 87 000 food parcels will be delivered to the communities of Olievenhoutbosch, Diepsloot, Cosmo City, and Tembisa, indirectly benefiting over 349 000 residents by mid-May.
“We have teamed up with non-governmental and non-profit organisations including the Diepsloot Youth programme, Afrika Tikkun, the Mahlasedi Foundation, the Love Trust and Laudium Disaster Management and by mid-May, over 87 000 food parcels will be delivered to the communities, indirectly benefiting over 349 000 residents. Some 50 000 cloth face masks, manufactured by The Diepsloot Foundation, will be also be included in the parcels,” CEO of Telesure Investment Holdings (TIH), Tom Creamer said.
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