This morning the 6th of October was the day that I planned for us to start packing all boxes, care parcels and all the other groceries and goodies. I had our team at the warehouse ready to go. Firstly, we had to place all our pallets on the floors to ensure that nothing could get wet if it happened to rain. Once all the pallets were packed where they were needed, we brought out all the boxes which takes some serious time as they need to be packed in the correct order and in the homes, they are for.
Once we had all the boxes out and ready to be packed the team started bringing out the stock that would need to be packed into each box. This process takes almost an entire day purely because of the care that is required to ensure that no pensioner is left without a box.
Eventually all the homes and names had been checked against our very thorough list provided by Linda and we were ready to start packing. As the team work meticulously from item to item ensuring that each box receives the same quantities and food items you can see the boxes starting to fill. This is generally a whole 5-day processes that is followed to ensure that everything is correct. In addition to the process of packing the boxes we have team members busy packing and sealing maize meal which is a staple here. The last item to be packed into bags for each pensioner is the sugar-coated fruit squares, this is an absolute favourite amongst our oldies and a treat we do instead of chocolate occasionally.
Once all the boxes are packed our team checks them against the name lists again and the boxes are sealed and stacked in their homes. Then we move onto the frail care packages for each of our pensioners that don’t receive a box of goods and then onto the kitchens which is for those homes were all meals are cooked and served in a dining hall or directly to those in frail care. Once we are packed all packages are checked again against our lists, the reason for this is can you imagine being the one person in a home that doesn’t receive a package. I would be absolutely heartbroken if it were me. It is now Saturday, and we have some very well-deserved down time before the truck arrives. It is our opportunity to recharge our batteries a little and to get ready for the big week ahead.
Johan, Neels and Frans arrived in Bulawayo this afternoon the 12th of October after a very long 2-day trip from Malelane. Firstly, they had to head straight to the warehouse to park the truck there as there is no way that it would ever fit into my yard. Once they had parked the truck, they left the warehouse and were on their way to my house for some dinner, a beer or two and a good night’s rest.
Monday morning we were up bright and early but didn’t have to head off to the warehouse just yet because we had already arranged with the warehouse team to start loading the truck so that we could let the drivers have some well-deserved rest. Once we arrived at the warehouse the truck was almost completely packed and we just needed to check a few items and sort out a few things. Neels was ready to head out so with Frans as pco-driver and Neels driving they were on the road and ready to start their trip and to get all the boxes delivered to our amazing pensioners.
Once they were on the way we quickly loaded up the bakkie with all the groceries and meds for our pensioners at Queen Mary, Ralstein, Edith Duly and Masonic. As soon as everything was loaded, we were on our way to Ralstein to deliver first. Upon arrival I could tell how quiet it was with not one pensioner in sight. We are currently experiencing a bit of a heat wave and the current temperature was 32deg at 10am in the morning. I have come to notice that when it is too hot the pensioners seem to be having a snooze in their room. After having a quick chat to some of the nurses we were on our way to our next stop.
Upon arriving at Queen Mary their kitchen staff hurried out to assist us with the offloading of all the groceries. As I walked through the kitchen, I could smell that they were busy with the most delicious lunch. The cook told
me that he was busy with pork chops, vegetables and rice which literally had my mouth watering. Once again, I walked up and down the passages searching for a glorious oldie to have a conversation with but they were all relaxing in their rooms which are obviously cooler than the common areas. I did however bump into the Matron whilst I am looking for someone to have a conversation with. She told me how the food and medical items that we provide make it possible for them to continue doing what they do.
Next, we were off to Edith Duly to deliver their groceries for the kitchen. As all the boxes and boxes were offloaded, I slipped in to have a chat with the ladies in the office as I already knew that everyone would be resting by this time. I may have to go back towards the end of the trip either in the early morning after breakfast or late afternoon before dinner if I wanted to have a catch up with any of my oldies. Once we were all done offloading it was off to our last stop for the day which would be Masonic Cottages. When we arrived there, we were waved in by all the oldies sitting on their verandas and met at the drop off point by the 2 ladies that always know where everything should go. Mrs Warner is always there with a big smile, tons of energy and ready to get going. After a lovely catch up and a couple of jokes all the boxes were in the storeroom where they are then sent on a wheelbarrow to each cottage. It is generally in December when we do our Christmas boxes and presents that we then walk from flat-to-flat chatting to everyone and delivering their boxes and gifts. Well, it is hot as anything now with the bakkie showing me a temperature of 36deg so with that I think that it is time for us to head back to our warehouse and check that everything is ready for our early morning deliveries tomorrow.
We went back to the warehouse to offload all the boxes that were in the bakkie and to drop of Angela for a bit of an early night. Tomorrow we will be another busy day, but I look forward to seeing some of my golden oldies. I just arrived home and it seems that Frans is sick and now Johan has to return to Bulawayo which means that Johan needs to drive to Gweru first thing tomorrow morning and swop places with Frans. Johan left my house at 5am Tuesday Morning and got to Frans at 7am, Frans made it back to my house by 9am so I could get some meds for him and be on my way to the warehouse. Now I was off to load the bakkie for our Coronation Cottages deliveries. These deliveries normally take us a full day. It is 10:30 am and we have loaded the bakkie and are on our way to Coronation, I am so excited to see all the smiling faces.
Our first stop was at the office to deliver boxes for a few outsiders that generally collect from there. Once all those boxes were offloaded, we were off to Diane Manuel, she was super grateful for the amazing box of groceries. She is battling with kidney stones and was not feeling too great. Next it was time to deliver to Rachel, she was not in her flat but her little doggie “Angel” was there and not feeling too great but was getting better. We carried on with our deliveries going from Cottage to Cottage. Next, we popped in by Lynette Dixon, she was feeling a bit down and told us how lonely it can become and that sometimes no one visits at all. Soon we were heading to Mrs Van Der Merwe, she seemed to be doing well but was saying how unbearable the heat has become. She is one of those pensioners that you can talk to for hours. Once she found the fruit squares in her box she was off to go and enjoy some of them. Each pensioner seems to have their favourite treats.
Across the road were Irene and Ian, they had seen us coming and were waiting for us to reach their flat. They were both looking a little happier than they did when I did my last visit. Next we delivered to a few oldies down the road and then we were off to Gloria Bent. She was full of smiles and was seeming happy and healthy. As we continued through coronation it was getting hotter as we seem to be in the middle of an incredible heatwave. The one thing that I noticed is how absolutely stunning most of the gardens are looking, flowers blooming everywhere. One of our last deliveries was with Elaine Good. As usual we found this precious lady in her garden busy snipping and digging. She just kept saying that the heat will bring the rain and that is why she was preparing her garden.
As we finished our deliveries for the day, we waved goodbye to the security staff at the Coronation Gate and head back to our warehouse to drop off all our empty boxes again and then it was off home for me.
The next morning the 15th of October I was up and heading off to the warehouse to load up for our deliveries. As I arrived all the boxes were already stacked and ready to be loaded because we all know what a busy day lay ahead. The team began to load the bakkie as full as we could to ensure that we could get around to as many oldies as possible. First we delivered to a few outsiders, unfortunately most of them were out and about
before the sun became too hot for them. Mr and Mrs Maynard were home and excited to greet us. Mr Maynard was looking so much better than he did when we last delivered, he was full of smiles and excited to greet us. Mrs Maynard has been battling a little more with her walking and balance, but he said that they take her outside to walk a little a few times a day. Then we were off to Qualisa to Mrs Macy Paterson, she was up and enjoying the weather as usual. She met us in her garden to receive her box of groceries.
From there we were off to Garden Park to visit and deliver their boxes. It was already so hot, the bakkie temp was already showing 32deg outside. With the heat being the way it is it certainly explains why so may of our oldies were having a snooze or just lying in front of the fan. Mr John Meyers was one of the first pensions that we got to see. Once again, he expressed how absolutely grateful he was to receive this box. He told us that he would not be able to survive without the groceries we supply. Then we head down the road to Mr and Mrs Sutton. A usually talkative couple seemed totally down today as Mrs Sutton explained the health issues that they were battling with. It is so sad when you get to a pensioner that you see every second month or so and you can see how they are struggling, not always financially but with health and other issues.
One of our last stops was with Mr Bancraft, he has always been one of the pensioners that I can’t wait to get to. As usual the moment I arrived he offered me a cup of tea, he has occasionally offered me something stronger….lol but I always tell him that I would have to come back after hours for that. He was once again so grateful for the large box of groceries that we were delivering. From there we were on our way to the next home to deliver. Barbera Burrel is not too far down the road, so we head in that direction. Once we arrived, I was greeted by the new Matron Petronella who was so friendly and ready to help. Most of the pensioners were having a bit of a snooze but I was lucky enough to catch Elaine outside under a tree with her nurse. Elaine was enjoying a cup of tea and the slight breeze. I always love my conversations with her, sometimes I am lucky enough to get a couple of giggles and smiles. I always have to be so careful what I say to her because she does not like it when I leave. I normally have to tell a little white lie to be able to leave without upsetting her but at least then she stays happy.
We were off down the road to Mrs Conway. This was a very heartsore visit as Mr Norman Conway had passed on the 18th of September. Mrs Conway was tyring to be strong as she had her Grandchild there and her Great Grandchildren. Her and Norman had been married for over 50 years which is an absolute lifetime as you can imagine. There is not a lot that I could say to comfort her, but I certainly tried. Her Granddaughter is looking to get married in Victoria Falls so they were planning a trip up there to finalize all the arrangements. I think that the trip away with her daughter, Granddaughter and Great Grandchildren is exactly what she needs.
Today was another extremely emotional day but we had come to the end of our deliveries for the day. It is days like this that make you so sad yet so happy at the same time. I know how grateful I am to be able to be involved in such an amazing project, something that my Father (Hannes Botha, ZPSF Founder) was so passionate about. I feel like I am honouring him by being involved. Every time I miss him and begin to cry I remind myself that he is here watching what I am doing and I know how proud he must be. I then dropped Angela and all the empty boxes at the warehouse and told her to get some rest before we do our final deliveries tomorrow.
Well today is our last day of delivering packages for this trip and man it is already so hot, the temperature gauge already showing 32deg. I packed my ice-cold water and an iced coffee and was on my way to the warehouse to load up for the day. Our first stop was going to be Kingshaven in Esigodini and then a few boxes for pensioners that were not home when we were delivering and then off to deliver all the other outsiders on the other side of town.
Once I arrived at the warehouse and we had finished loading the bakkie, we were off to Kingshaven. As we arrived and drove through the gate you can just see how calm and beautiful it is. It is certainly a home in one of the most beautiful settings. As we began delivering the boxes at Lorraine Kings house, she was telling us about how things were going. We always deliver to her and then the complex workers deliver the boxes to each home. It was time to say goodbye and be on our way back to Bulawayo to continue our deliveries. The drive back was reasonably quiet and not too many cars on the road. As we entered Bulawayo the traffic picked up and there were a lot of police on the roads.
Our first stop to deliver a box to Lynn Edwards who had moved from Kingshaven to Garden Park, she seemed to be settling in well. She told me how much the box of groceries means to her. From there we were off to Mrs Rita Winehoff, she says that she is doing well and is healthy. Very often when you deliver, for the briefest moment you forget what these boxes mean to each of our oldies. These boxes ae everything to many of these pensioners. This being the only food that some of them receive. We were then on our way to Mr Rob Lomax who is always super grateful for the box with every little thing in it. One of the last houses we stopped at was that of Mr Bernard Bartlett, he was complaining of extreme exhaustion and saying that he just can’t get any energy.
That was us finished with all our deliveries for this trip, it was an amazing trip with so many funny story’s and smiles. Doing these trips and delivering these boxes to each of our oldies has become an absolute highlight for me. Not one of these trips we be remotely possible if not for every one of our generous doners. We do that actual trip but you make it possible and the hugest thank you definitely goes out to every one of you. For any of you that are interested in becoming donors to this absolutely one-of-a-kind fund, please reach out.
Head office South Africa contact details:
Linda Schultz – linda@zpsf.co.za / zpsf@zpsf.onmicrosoft.com – (C) 079 6082676
Johan Schultz – johan@zpsf.co.za – (C) 082 4979328
Section 21 Co Reg. 2007/034036/08; NPO Number 096733; Section 18A PBO No 930031642
