It was an emotional and tear-jerking end to the Ramadan Make-A-Difference campaign on Monday, as scores of people turned up at Pick ‘n Pay Canal Walk for the final give-away. The usually busy shopping centre was packed with shoppers all trying to get their Eid shopping done and others doing their month-end grocery shopping.

The annual Ramadan initiative, hosted in partnership with Pick ‘n Pay, aims to help those in need and has been going strong for more than a decade. On Monday, VOC reporters had the privilege of meeting some of the sponsors as well as the recipients of the vouchers.

Many of these people who received the vouchers were not selected because they sent in their letters, but because they were of those who were in desperate need. Amongst the beneficiaries VOC News interacted with included an elderly woman who lives alone and a mother with three children who is not working but looking for work to support her family. They came from areas such as Delft and Westridge in Mitchell’s Plain.

But Muslims were not the only ones who received the shopping vouchers. A Muslim man nominated his neighbour who is a Christian to receive a voucher. She is also a single mother who is unemployed.

It was great to see that people are really trying to help each other out and it was hard not to shed a tear when hearing their stories. Those who were nominated by anonymous donors were also grateful to hear that they were the recipients of the vouchers from Pick ‘n Pay.

The VOC OB team had some of the people who wrote the chosen letters, read out their letters to the listeners of VOC. This was to encourage others who are also in need to reach out to the people at Make-A-Difference.
VOC’s Nur Morton, the coordinator of the project this year, said the team has seen a sharp increase in letters this year, which had moved the panellists.

“There were many times that we were left crying by these letters. It was very moving. There were even times that I received desperate calls from people after hours, looking for assistance. This really just proves the desperate needy in our communities.” VOC