As the winter cold sets in, 90 senior citizens were treated to a meal and given blankets at an event hosted by Ward 99 councillor Bongile Ngcani at the Thusong hall in Khayelitsha on Tuesday May 21.
Mr Ngcani said the R50 000 required to host the annual event had been covered by his ward allocation budget.
He said he was aware of the many challenges residents of his ward faced, so he did what he could to help them.
Many of the elderly people at last week’s lunch, he said, were solely dependent on their social grants and he hoped to make things a little easier on them by treating them to a meal and a gift.
He added that every year they try to ensure that people who benefited the previous year were not chosen again and that the gathering gave the elderly an opportunity to raise their issues and get to know each other better.
“I find gratitude when these elderly smile. I want senior citizens to feel loved and appreciated. I urge the youth to appreciate their grandmothers and grandfathers. I want to play a part in making them happy,” he said.
Nozukile Nganya, 61, said there were many problems in their informal community of Endlovini in Khayelitsha, but that such gatherings helped ease their stress.
She added that she hoped that the provincial government would speed up service delivery to improve their living conditions. Another senior citizen, Hendrick Rhashalala,70, said he was excited that he had been invited to the gathering, which allowed them, for a short while, to forget about their problems and socialise with other senior citizens.
Mr Rhashalala, who has been living in the area since 1997, said he hoped to one day own a house.