Soup Kitchen seeks to alleviate hardship amongst Bulawayo's elderly
The facility is comprised of a recreational hall, catering area, library and administrative office. It is encompassed by a retirement village. A relief entity known as the Verity Amm Soup Kitchen is housed in the catering area of this facility and it is here that the complex’s principal humanitarian activities occur.
Ann van den Berg is the Centre’s Chairperson, who together with her daughter Lisa and voluntary staff complement of four, efficiently takes care of the day to day running of business. Mother of three and grandmother of three lovely children, Ann is an unassuming person of an evidently generous disposition. Her commitment to the welfare of her eighty five elderly beneficiaries is demonstrated by remarks she made during a recent interview. “I have had deep concern for the helpless from the time I was very young. However, I believe that my ascendance to a position of leadership in the Soup Kitchen project is derived from divine inspiration. My actions in this scheme are simply in obedience to a prophetic message I received several years ago.”
With the assistance of Lisa and voluntary workers, Ann serves breakfast, tea/coffee and lunch, four days a week, to very needy aged people as earlier mentioned. On the occasion of major religious and national events, such as Christmas, Easter, Mother’s or Father’s days, beneficiaries of the soup kitchen receive treats in the form of specially prepared meals. “We like to provide these treats , since most of the people we feed, would not, under the circumstances, be able to enjoy such meals, as they just do not have the means or support to do so,” said Ann.
Neither Mrs. van den Berg or Lisa, nor the voluntary staff, have an income and therefore must rely on the good will of well-wishers for assistance to keep this noble initiative running. Provision of food-stuffs, cleaning materials and the means to conduct repairs and maintenance work at the Verity Amm Centre is almost always reliant on donations; a source which is steadily dwindling. Consequently the facility is constantly faced with the spectre of closure, which poses a real possibility of increased suffering for those who are meant to benefit from the scheme.
Donations do not cover the personal or family needs of Ann or her staff, who battle in order to make ends meet. “We all have families with the usual needs and expenses that one normally expects to encounter in society. The only difference is the absence of an income in our case. This presents an enormous challenge for us and our dependant”
Mrs. van den Berg had to fight for funds to revamp the lavatory systems at the complex. Her efforts were rewarded with the recent completion of the fitting of required equipment. The largest portion of the requisite work was carried out by her and staff members. A positive consequence of this is the fact that hygienic conditions at the facility have been raised to acceptable levels.
In order to meet some of the costs at the Centre, the community hall is by necessity being hired out to a group of churches at a nominal fee, but the prime purpose of this hall is as a venue of entertainment for elderly people resident at the surrounding retirement village.
There also exists a library at the Verity Amm Centre. It opens for one hour on two weekdays, every week. Members may select any amount of books or magazines they can carry and additionally the library opens for an hour on Saturdays, to allow the loaning of videos to beneficiaries. Residents pay a small fee to become members and although the library is reasonably stocked, donations of suitable reading materials and videos would be welcome.
Business at the Verity Amm Centre is administered by Lisa with assistance from her mother, working from an on-site office. This office lacks a computer and other equipment necessary for the complex’s efficient running. Donations in cash or kind to address these needs would be most appreciated.
Ann is also appealing for a well-wisher who is prepared to make a commitment to provide staff support in the form of salaries. Speaking in this regard she remarked; “It would break my heart in the event that we should have to abandon this good work in order to find employment in order to support our families and ourselves. The uppermost concern is for the wellbeing of these aged people who have become destitute because of adverse economic factors prevalent in our land. It is therefore important that their welfare is adequately maintained and that they are properly fed with nutritious meals, as well as being able to enjoy the benefits that this Centre would normally provide.”
A devout Christian, Mrs. Van den Berg, believes that the Almighty God will not fail to bestow his abundant generosity upon any well-wishers willing to assist by any possible good means.
Those wishing to assist this most worthy cause may do so by using the following contact details:
Mrs. Ann van den Berg; Telephone: +263 – 9 – 202734, or Mobile: +263 – 772 333 921.
Email:
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