Sandy and I did the weekly grocery deliveries which mostly went without a hitch. People continue to be enormously grateful and, as usual, we can see visible differences in their general well-being.
I have always spent a lot of time with our recipients but adding groceries to the equation adds a different dimension which has surprised me.
Firstly, the people appear visibly healthier, but secondly, their appreciation at receiving this aid is tangible. Denise VdW who is normally very shy with people, beams with happiness, saying ‘you are looking after me so beautifully and my grocery bills are now manageable’.
Izzy S, who lives on the same property as Alan E and Joy O is suffering from crippling headaches due to being hit by a car as a pedestrian over a year ago. The groceries we give Alan and Joy are shared with Izzy as she is feeling fragile and is also struggling financially.
I had a very short visit with Mr. A at one of the care complexes as I am still not allowed on to the premises. The lockdown has affected this gentleman greatly. With no domestic help allowed access to the premises, the laundry and cleaning have been left to these folks, which for this 93-year-old man is very difficult. He is very lonely, sad, and desperate for life to return to normal. I will be visiting him next week again in the hope that I might be able to spend a bit more time with him.
On our weekly food parcel run, M and I had lengthy chats with some of ZANE beneficiaries. Leroy who collects on behalf of his mother Nel W, was telling us how she is struggling with the increased prices of her medicines leaving them with shortfalls and very little to live on.
Pierre G, who is a man of few words, was suffering from a sprained ankle. He was pleased to see us and to receive his monthly support so he could buy some medication for his injury.
Stuart M, as usual, was delighted to see us. Stuart and his wife Lyn lead a very hard and rough life. Both are not well and spend most of the support from us on their medication. Stuart is always so happy to see us and calls us his angels – we tell him that it is really our donors who are the angels!
* Names and images may have been changed for privacy reasons
If you are already a ZANE donor, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. If you are not a donor but would like to be, please follow the link below and know that every donation, however big or small, goes directly to where it is most needed. If you would like to help but can’t donate, please join the ZANE family and ‘like’ or ‘share’ our posts or write us a Google review – every positive step helps spread the word about the life changing work ZANE does.
Thank you – Nicky Passaportis ZANE Australia
Please donate to support pensioners struggling to survive in Zimbabwe
Any assistance is greatly appreciated and goes a long way to giving our pensioners a better quality of life and lift the pressure of money worries which is very debilitating emotionally.
(Donations made to ZANE in Australia, are tax-deductible)