Second year nursing students from the University of KwaZulu-Natal donated groceries worth over R5000 to non profit organisation, Siphilisiwe Community Care in Point today. UKZN students reach out to the Point community with groceries. Picture Supplied.
DURBAN - Second year nursing students from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) donated groceries worth over R5000 to non- profit organisation, Siphilisiwe Community Care in the Point area today.
The NPO was identified by the students through their community profile project which formed part of their nursing course.
Through this project, the students conduct research about communities, identify key problems and try to come up with solutions.
Thereafter, the students pick a community for an outreach programme, raising awareness about their problems and make donations in whatever way they can.
Nursing student Samukelisiwe Ngema, said they chose to donate to the Point community through the Siphilisiwe Community Care organisation because of the work the NPO’s doing.
“When we got to Point we saw the soup kitchen handing out food to the homeless people so we decided to find out more about them, and because we are well aware of the issues faced by this community, we decided to work with them,” said Ngema.
Thando Dambuza, the organisations secretary, said the year-old NPO was a vision of their founder who was passionate about feeding the vulnerable.
“The organisation started operating during the national lockdown last year. We cook food to dish for homeless people or the people who are in need of food. Beyond that, we help the homeless people reunite with their families. We help these people get off the streets, see them through the process of detox and also take them to hospitals or rehabilitation centres,” she said.
Dambuza added that the organisation relied solely on donations and contributions from their committee.
“We are thankful to the students of UKZN for this donation. I am positive that it will see us through for some time as we continue with our work,” she said.
The students also conducted a programme on the dangers of substance abuse in the area.
THE MERCURY