DURBAN - With week one of the National lockdown almost coming to an end, state officials, NGOs and community leaders are all playing their part in minimising its effect on the elderly and vulnerable.
Members from the Nelson Mandela Chatsworth Youth Centre and neighbouring communities have strung together their resources in an attempt to help the elderly and poverty stricken.
Jurie Thaver, of the Coronavirus Action Committee for Chatsworth and Welbedacht (COVAC) says their aim was to ensure that the effects of the lockdown did not have a drastic effect on vulnerable residents.
The team's focus has been primarily on the elderly people in and around the Chatsworth area. Which has seen the distribution of food hampers and other necessary consumables.
“There have been some very generous people who have sponsored us with food items that we have turned into hampers that we distributed to mostly the elderly people,” added Thaver.
The team has taken it a step further by liaising with major shopping complexes around the area to assist the elderly in receiving their grants. “We met last weekend and we helped them put systems in place because we knew that there would be a rush when the pensioners came to collect their grant,” said Thaver.
She also expressed concern at the way elderly people were being treated.
“Apart from the crisis we are facing, we find that elderly people are spoken to disrespectfully and part of our message and purpose as a committee is to treat the elderly with respect and compassion,” added Thaver.
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