Good Samaritan continues the good deed of helping the needy

Saturday, 21 March was an emotional day for founder of Charity Begins With Me, Stephan Ferreira who distributed every single food item that he had.

Stephan and his friends are not a registered NGO, as a result they do not work with money, but each month they select a big project or two and collect various items they can use to make a difference in the lives of those who need it the most.

“As much as it scares me to have nothing to fall back on, there is some comfort in knowing everyone is taken care of for the next week or so.

“Please buy just one extra item when you go shopping this week – no stockpiling, no hoarding and no hanging on to food while people struggle to make ends meet, or are too scared to leave their homes,” he said.

Stephan is not sure what the next few weeks will have in store, but he is urging members of the community to donate any non-perishable food items.

Charity Begins With Me met some boys a few years ago and every Saturday, without fail, they show up to volunteer. Because of all their hard work they get to take home a food parcel every week. Considering our country will be in lockdown soon, Stephan wanted to give them enough food to last them a good three weeks in case he could not go visit them.

The challenge they would face is carrying everything home, so Stephan came up with a plan for each of the boys to have his own, personalised food bank filled with groceries.

“If at any time during the week they need something they can run and collect it without having to wait for my next visit.

“Life as we know it is changing, and although we will not continue with all our activities I will still go above and beyond to make sure all my kids have access to breakfast, lunch and dinner,” said a determined Stephan.

The main drop-off is in Fairland from 5pm to 7pm, and alternative drop-offs can also be arranged, or simply place an order via Pick n Pay online and they will deliver the items directly to his door.