The staff had spent months preparing for the initiative and dedicated their time and resources to ensure that the drive was a success. They personally prepared the food items demonstrating their love and care to the homeless community which was handed out to each of them.
Ronie Pakkiri, Academic Head for Intec College, who was stationed with a group of staff at the Milnerton site, said the members of this community live on the concrete floor outside the lifesavers building with a scanty covering, which they assemble for the night. One of the heartbreaking stories was that people of this community sleep during the day because they are afraid they might die of the cold in their sleep.
“About 60 homeless people were fed and given hampers of non-perishables donated to them. One of the individuals who came to see his homeless brother who lives on the beach, emotionally thanked the Intec College team on behalf of all that were present. We are currently in discussion with the Intec staff regarding the adoption of this project as our community benefit programme,” said Ronie.
News of the initiative got out and strangers who were not part of the Intec team decided it was a cause worth supporting and they joined in to assist. Two people who were already privately feeding the homeless joined the group to feed an even larger batch of hungry mouths. They had already started serving hot soup and bread every Monday from their own pocket.
According to Paola Martin, Credit Administrator who joined the Grand Parade team, the experience was humbling. “For some of us it is not every day that we get to give back to our community, so it was a blessing seeing these people especially the little children’s faces when we gave them the meals. By taking part in this initiative and showing that we care through this generous contribution, we fed hearts. It was an honour giving back to our Community with ICG.”
This was Intec's way of giving back to its community and contributing to its well-being, a group at a time. To find out more visit www.intec.edu.za
