Respond - Into the Point (with a warning)
- Clint McLean
- Apr 23, 2020
- 2 min read
I left home early this morning, for St Peters, feeling quite anxious. The first two hours of our prep day had created a fair sized disturbance outside the church and I must admit I was expecting a small riot during the handover of the food today. I also had no idea if I was going to be returning home tonight, based on the threats of arrest I had received from the SAP, as a result of the disturbance. I sent my sister the numbers of my lawyer buddies and asked some very good friends to check in with me throughout the day, and headed to Point Road.
As it turned out the, the day was predictably chaotic, as hungry Africans of all shapes and sizes and of all nationalities congregated at St Peters. The Ubuntu Army team was really well organized and the guys dealt with the challenges amazingly. Social distancing, sanitizing and mask wearing were orders of the day. Father George was his charismatic self, and marshaled the members of the community beautifully. The situation, at times, was heart breaking, a hazard of this type of work it seems, with so many people begging for food. Explaining that the food had already been allocated, and that there wasn’t anything left to give, broke my heart as the hungry registered with us for future drops. We now have a waiting list of over 500 households.
As it turned out the SAP visited us on three occasions and were, for the most part, collaborative. They must have heard Fr. George’s words this morning, “charity is a necessity. Life is a necessity, and when life is at stake, the law falls” as the captains who attended, proactively supported our work today. The curve ball, arrived at 2.30pm. You know you’re doing something right, when the politicians arrive to threaten, at first, and then to pitch their agenda. It was water off a ducks back. Ubuntu Army will continue its work irrespective of political agenda.
We fed 240 households today and we continue tomorrow. To the donors, supporters and to the Ubuntu soldiers, the day was a success. Lessons were learnt and I think, moving forward, our missions will become more slick and effective. Thank you all very much for the support, prayers and messages. You guys kick ass.
Comments