That title is just problematic. Feeding the homeless on just one specific day is not good enough. Waking up once a year to do something good is just not good enough. Jumping on the bandwagon is just not good enough. Or is it……

Let me tell you, before National Mandela Day, the 18th of July was nothing special. Nobody did anything specifically good or particularly bad on that day. But now millions of people who otherwise did not, spend at least a part of the day doing something good for someone else. Now that is good enough!

Millions of people jumping on the bandwagon of good cannot be a bad thing. But…. there is always room for more, the need is just so great. And days like Mandela Day spur us into action and remind us of that need. It is also such a beautiful therapy for our own souls. Much like Ramadaan. In this time we observe ourselves to be better people. We rush to do our charity because the spiritual reward in this month is greater. But if this reminder did not come around every year, we probably would not do as much.

We honored the legacy of the great Tata Madiba yesterday by bringing food to the Elim Night Shelter for the homeless in Elsies River. The shelter looks after 85 people, a small number of which are Muslim. They have projects to help people get back on their feet, find a skill and get re-integrated or re-united with their families. Because I live in Parow and this shelter is the closest one, we often get people who come to our door asking for money for the shelter. The shelter discourages giving people money for this because they have programmes to help them and you cannot verify whether your money is being used for the shelter. So often we give food instead of money. But there are many that still go hungry…

Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors Tomahawk Spur in Goodwood, Rodeo Spur in Claremont and Tikkaways in Goodwood, we were able to deliver 85 meals to them for supper. It feels good to have been able to a little bit of good in our neck of the woods.

 

The incredible team running things at Elim

 

Shafiq is the manager

 

The shelter helps everyone. You’d be surprised to see how many white people are homeless.

 

A huge thank you to Tomahawk Spur in Goodwood and Rodeo Spur in Claremont for sponsoring burger meals

 

And an equally huge thank you Tikkaways for the generous chicken wrap meals.

 

Please support these businesses if you’re in their area. They have big hearts.