Covid Relief 2020

The hard lockdown hit the Camp Road communities around 7de Laan hard. So we went into action together with our partner HANDS AND FEET and in April 2020 started to provide 1 500 people with two warm meals (breakfast and dinner) every day from Monday to Friday. Extra gas stoves and huge pots were bought so that two soup kitchens could be active at the same time. People from the communities helped our Hope Center kitchen team with the preparation and distribution. The food supply continued daily until the end of September. After that there was a transition period during which food parcels were handed out to the families for several weeks.

In addition, at the beginning of the pandemic, over 4 000 masks, 1 500 bottles of hand sanitiser and information material about the then new and unknown Corona virus were distributed. Hundreds of homeless people, who were relocated from the city of Cape Town into huge tents on the sports field next to 7de Laan in a rather desperate attempt to empty the streets, were also able to benefit from masks and sanitisers.

As soon as the Hope Center was allowed to reopen at the end of July, the new Covid rules brought an enormous challenge. Several contactless thermometers and foot operated sanitiser dispensers were purchased in order to make the processes in the Hope Center as smooth as possible despite Covid restrictions. Due to the rather challenging time of the lockdown and the associated alcohol ban, the Hope Center team was able to experience how more and more people decided to change their lives. The funds available made it possible for these people to go to rehabilitation facilities and to ensure further follow-up care through our family preservation team.