Local organisation's soup kitchen keeps queuing patients warm
Standing in long queues in the cold and dark winter season is a thing of the past for chronic patients waiting for health services at local clinics.
Bennit Maponya from the Ditlalemeso Organisation said they continue to keep the patients warm in winter while waiting for the clinic to open by providing them with warm, nutritious vegetable soup and bread to fill up their stomachs.
'We don't want to see elderly people and chronic patients waking up as early as 03:00 with freezing hands and cold feet in winter,' said Maponya.
He said the organisation aims to keep patients warm in winter by providing them with soup and bread from as early as 06:00.
'Our mission is to see Mamelodi have a good, healthy community.
'We are calling all residents of Mamelodi to look after their health and know their status,' he said.
The main aim is to keep patients warm and make them drink their medication on time as the doctor has prescribed.
The organisation encourages the public to take care of their health, and the first step is to go for a health screening.
'The soup kitchen was started because we could not bear to see people freeze in the cold with empty stomachs, especially elderly people with aching bodies.
'People wake up early to be first in line to get primary healthcare, but at the same time, there are some residents who are on chronic medication and must take their medication in the morning,' Maponya said.
'Members of the organisation buy the products with their own money, and local funders and private donors help too.'
He said their community socio-economic development organisation was formed by three people looking to uplift the community of Mamelodi with skills development for unemployed people.
The organisation was formed over four months to assist Mamelodians, young and old, with social issues, starting with clothes, soup kitchens, and helping children with their school work.
They also aim to keep children busy and away from the streets by introducing them to different activities, including sports.
'Mamelodi has five clinics, and our goal is to have all these clinics have a soup kitchen for the whole of winter.'
He also said that after winter, they will continue visiting the clinics to give sandwiches to people taking medication in the morning to avoid them going home to eat and coming back to the clinic.
Organisation members also wake up early in the morning to start preparing the 60 litres of vegetable soup aimed at keeping people warm in the cold winter.
'We are appealing to the community to share their warmth by assisting with any form of donation to keep people seeking healthcare warm at all Mamelodi clinics,' said Maponya.
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Please send us an email to bennittb@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
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