Morning all. As the world struggles to cope with the pandemic that has befallen us all, it’s undeniable that the poorest, as always, are hardest hit and most vulnerable. One of our members Jack has forged a friendship with a man who lived in a township in South Africa which has been ravaged by the effects of Corona-19 and is desperate to help a community blighted at the best of times by poor health, over stretched medical provisions and crime. Siyabonga seeks not just to help himself and his family but to use the money to help his community engulfed in the most desperate of times. Jack has kindly provided a few links for us to understand more completely just how dire the situation is and the awful “life or death” decisions the doctors and nurses are forced to make daily. Thank you always for your love, kindness and help. Stronger together x
Dear 500 Reasons, I recently received an email from a lovely friend I met whilst working in Cape Town a few years ago, in the email he asked me if could help him and his family in this really worrying time over there. I'm sure you've heard a little on the news about how the Virus is rapidly gaining momentum in SA and how the people there are extremely concerned about it. The very nature of township living means the people there are dangerously exposed to contraction of the virus and with health care not being strong before the virus, the concern is how they will cope with the increased strain. They are also locked down until September. In 2016 Siyabonga was working as a unit driver on a job I was doing just outside of Cape Town and we soon became friends as he is the most curious, caring and hilarious man. In a lovely stroke of luck I went on to a second job in Cape Town and lo and behold Siya was working on that one too! Which gave me the chance to meet his family (they took me to their church) and to visit his Delft township. Siya was always educating me in the car ridesto and from set politics, history etc the complexities of SA he was very passionate about lifting his people out of poverty. He was very passionate about his township and wanted to help others there (his passion was sport) and he wanted to set up a safe place for the children to go and play. Obviously with no productions work has dried up there for Siya, and he's asked me to help him a little. It made me think of our lovely charity and I know £500 would not only help him and his family but they would do what they could for others around them, in his words ' I can help others in my neighbourhood my brother' Attached are a couple of photos taken whilst Siya showed me around Camps Bay in Cape Town. And also some links to articles about the pandemic out there. Much Love Jack https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/coronavirus-pandemic-exposes-south-africa-brutal-inequality-200612161408571.html Deciding who lives and dies in a Cape Town township Deciding who lives and dies in a Cape Town township Without enough supplies of oxygen or staff, health workers in South Africa are making some difficult decisions.