Respond (Report) - 14 April 2020
- Clint McLean
- Apr 14, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 24
Bhambayi
A very wet Ubuntu Army delivery to Bhambayi today. Food, clothes, bedding, and a whole lot of Easter eggs. Well done to Mandy, Bhambayi Project and St Martin's Church for organizing the food. Thank you to the Pretorious family, to Wendy and to Pamela for contributions. The people we are reaching are truly grateful and inspired by the possibilities.
A Catch Up
Good morning Ubuntu Soldiers!
I have been super busy and haven’t had the time or the energy to write this long, overdue message. First. Thank you all for joining Ubuntu Army! We are now over 400 strong, and I believe that 400 determined and compassionate souls can make a real difference in the lives of those people far less fortunate. Let’s grow this army and spread the love as far as possible. We live in a beautiful and incredibly unique country, and South Africa really needs the contribution of dedicated people to realize its potential, to create greater equity and to find peace for all. Thank you for signing up!
Our website is live at www.ubuntuarmy.org and I am super excited to report that donations have begun to flow in, via the site. This is fortunate as our mask making initiative hasn’t generated the numbers we need. That said, I would like to say a massive thank you to the women who have been sewing tirelessly for the cause. You’re amazing!! I would like to encourage any latent seamstresses our there to get involved. This fight that we’re in, doesn’t end when the lockdown is lifted. Masks and soap are going to be needed by the poor in informal settlements, by the homeless and by the refugee communities over the next few months in order to slow the spread of C19, flatten the curve and thereby allow everyone access to medical treatment. Keep sewing!
I am negotiating with a few mask manufacturers and hope to strike a deal soon. This is an economy of scale and the more we buy, the cheaper the masks become. Please encourage the more financially secure to donate to the fight, via the website. This will allow us to buy in bulk and to cover as many mouth as possible.
Food is becoming a real problem for the vulnerable and I am running transport for a number of grassroots organizations that concentrate on providing food. If you would like to help distribute food, please click on the volunteer heart on our site, and I will add you to our fleet of drivers.
Finally, a number of Ubuntu members have expressed concern over the plight of their domestic and casual labour, both South African and foreign, and have been keen to set up some sort of assistance for their people. This is a great idea, simply because the need is great. And very real. My suggestion is to create a Food Chain (details on our site). Ask your employee to create a list of all those who are needy in their community (hopefully you can trust their recommendations), and then create a fund for this community. You can run the fund through your bank account (I think SARS will be lenient on these sorts of funds in future tax returns, although not guaranteed). Once you have the funds, our drivers can assist in buying and delivering the food. I will publish a list of the essential items that are being included by food security grassroots groups. The food can be delivered to your employee, who can then hand it out to community members. This is not foolproof, but is the best model, from my experience, thus far.
That’s it for now. Once again, thank you all! Keep up the fight! ❤️
Kairon
Comments