An organisation that was initially started to help keep youth off the streets has shifted its focus since the beginning of the lockdown and started serving food to the community of Hanover Park instead.
Youth for Change was started by couple Colleen Shannon Simmers and Newton Atwiine in 2018 and works in gang-ridden communities like Hanover Park, Manenberg and Heideveld.
With the lockdown in play, they cannot do their usual work, but are still intent on helping their community.
However, they are now running out of ingredients and need donations to keep cooking.
“We basically help keep the youth off the streets. We teach them different things, from instruments, and dancing to acting,” says Colleen.
“During the lockdown, we have been serving food in the community.
“We are getting the youth involved so they learn to put others first.
“We ran out of food, but we want to keep feeding and helping the community,” says Colleen.
“We are hoping that someone will meet us halfway to help us sustain it and keep it running.”
FOCUS: Founders of Youth for Change to serving food to the Hanover Park community
Newton says it was difficult to say how many people were benefiting from their cooking.
“The numbers vary daily, based on how much food we have to serve,” he explains.
“But the lowest number we’ve served so far is 150 people.”
He says it would be a human tragedy if they could not carry on.
“We do the little we can because it is what we can afford at the moment.
“But people are hungry, most of them don’t have food in their houses and we have been a relief to them.”
If you would like to assist, you can contact them on
078 306 9333
.