#NotInMyName provides relief in Atteridgeville
"People are unable to put food on their table, so we thought we should take it upon ourselves to assist those in need."
#NotInMyName donated blankets and provided soup to less privileged people in Atteridgeville recently.
The donations were made at the old Gazankulu clinic in Mphalane Street, opposite Makhaza sports ground.
Secretary-general of #NotInMyName Themba Masango said due to growing requests, they have decided to continue with their soup kitchen and blanket drive which began in May.
“We have since taken it upon ourselves to, in the meantime, provide temporary relief to the community of Atteridgeville in the form of blankets and a soup kitchen.”
Masango said what prompted them to start this project is that many South Africans are sitting at home under level 3 of lockdown and many have lost their jobs since the beginning of the lockdown last year.
Masango said this initiative has since reached 10 000 people and counting on a daily basis.
“We have been doing it across the Gauteng province mostly in townships and marginalised areas. People are unable to put food on their table, so we thought we should take it upon ourselves to assist those in need.”
Masango said they will be definitely taking their food parcels programme beyond the winter season.
“Now that we are in Women’s Month, we will be focusing on women and children.”
#NotInMyName Atteridgeville chairperson Phathuxolo Nzimande said the people who received the donations were very happy and thankful.
“A lot of these people have no income and have not received any form of donations. The biggest challenges in our community are unemployment, crime and gender-based violence,” Nzimande said.
“We have also noticed learners dropping out of school because of Covid-19 and parents losing their jobs. The parents cannot afford the same things they could afford either a year or two before lockdown. So these children drop out of school not because they want to but because of the circumstances at home.
“This was maybe the third or fourth time we donate to the people in Atteridgeville this year. We have also been doing this in communities like Mamelodi and Hammanskraal.
“These challenges are there in communities and we need to come together and try uplift these communities,” Nzimande concluded.
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