A University of Cape Town (UCT) student has started a volunteer service to help the elderly have easier access to essentials during the country’s 21-day lockdown. Kate Charter is a business science student, and has formed the Cape Town Against Corona initiative to help the city’s oldest residents.
According to the group’s Facebook page, it is a volunteer service that helps deliver essentials to the elderly during the COVID-19 crisis. “Anyone can sign up to help and anyone over the age of 50 can sign up to receive the free grocery/pharmaceuticals delivery,” the page reads.
The group was established in mid-March, when the number of coronavirus cases in the Western Cape began climbing significantly, and now has over 150 volunteers. Various Capetonian companies have also offered to help the initiative along.
Each volunteer is required to carry a specific identity card to show police and allow them to travel with an elderly person to avoid any trouble with authorities.
“I was motivated by a wish to use my time away from university to do something productive that would bring about a positive from a very troublesome situation. I came across a similar organisation (now partnering with us) called Shopping Angels in the United States and found nothing had been set up in South Africa. I just took the initiative and set up Cape Town Against Corona,” Charter said via a statement received from UCT.
The initiative has also assisted Meals on Wheels to help deliver more than 500 meals to the elderly across the Cape.
“This is exactly what I wanted though, for the Cape Town community to come together and look out for each other; the organisation just being a platform to help this connection happen,” Charter added.
Any elderly individuals (anyone over the age of 50 years old) who need help in getting essential items are welcome to text Charter via WhatsApp on 082 452 8252.
The group’s official Facebook page can also be accessed here.
Picture: Supplied