Touws River community celebrates Christmas with food parcels and gifts
Smiling faces light up Touws River as Gift of the Givers volunteers distribute food parcels and Christmas gifts to excited children, bringing festive joy to the Karoo community.
Image: Supplied / Gift of the Givers
Synonymous with the festive period, a glimmer of hope came to the rural Karoo railway town of Touws River this week when 520 food parcels, along with 1,200 Christmas presents and party packs for the children of the community, were handed out.
On Thursday afternoon, Poplar Road was buzzing when the Gift of the Givers (GoTG) and the sponsor of the parcels and gifts, Max TV from the Netherlands, readied themselves to hand over to their beneficiaries from the poverty-stricken town.
Young recipients clutch their Christmas presents with delight as Gift of the Givers and Max TV representatives handed out 1,200 gifts to children in Touws River, many experiencing their first-ever visit from 'Santa Claus'. Pictured with the children is Gift of the Givers project coordinator, Ali Sablay.
Image: Supplied / Gift of the Givers
Gift of the Givers project manager, Ali Sablay, said parents of the children told them that they could not sleep the night before with the news that Santa Claus was going to visit.
Many families have been unable to provide even the simplest Christmas celebrations for their children, leaving many young ones without the joy traditionally associated with the festive season.
A young recipient clutches her Christmas present with delight.
Image: Supplied / Gift of the Givers
“When the GoTG trucks pulled through the morning, we were met with cheers and applause. The distribution was supposed to start at 12pm, but by 7am, elderly people in their excitement had already started putting out their chairs.
“For the sight of Santa, children peeped through windows and over the fences, looking for what Santa had in store for them,” said Sablay.
Gift of the Givers with Max TV transformed an ordinary December day into a memorable Christmas celebration for Touws River's residents.
Image: Supplied / Gift of the Givers
It was an emotional afternoon as recipients had tears in their eyes as they would now not have to wait at the feeding centre for a meal on Christmas Day.
“They cannot recall when last they had a meal together around a table on Christmas,” said Sablay.
Elderly residents, who arrived as early as 7am for the noon distribution, receive essential food parcels from Gift of the Givers on Poplar Road, ensuring Christmas meals for families struggling since the pandemic.
Image: Supplied / Gift of the Givers
The town of Touws River was hard hit during the pandemic in 2020, leaving in its wake a high rate of unemployment and seasonal workers challenged by an unstable income.
“The food hampers will ensure they have meals for the festive period going into the New Year. GoTG runs the community’s largest feeding centre, and at least this year, people of the feeding centre will have a break as well with their families. Receiving messages from the community after the handout, people were in awe of what had taken place,” said Sablay.
The Gift of the Givers team unloaded food hampers from their truck as community members gathered with anticipation, part of the initiative that distributed 520 parcels to poverty-affected households in Touws River.
Image: Supplied / Gift of the Givers
Pensioners Violet Galela, 75, and Magdalene Prins, 70, said they look forward to a blessed festive period with the much needed grocery items.
“I am so grateful for the grocery parcels we received. Everything that I needed was in there and now I won’t have any stress or worry of making a meal. When we saw what was in the hampers, it was such a shock because we did not imagine it would have all that. I am especially grateful for the meat.
“For the first time in years my family can even come have Christmas with me. I had waited since 8am the morning already and a bakkie had to help me take the groceries home because it was more than I could carry by myself,” said Galela
Prins became emotional as she spoke of the parcels they received.
“I'm a pensioner and so is my husband and he is disabled. Both my sons are at home and are unable to find unemployment. It has been a very difficult time for us but receiving these parcels was such a blessing. We appreciate everything that everybody did to make this possible,” said Prins.
GoTG continues to support the local feeding centre, established during the pandemic, which has become a beacon of hope for the community.
“The centre currently provides over 1,000 meals every second day, ensuring that vulnerable families are not left behind. The new kitchen facility with solar panels was sponsored by Max TV and the people of the Netherlands after their last visit to the town.
“Through compassion, partnership, and action, GoTG remains committed to restoring dignity and hope to communities in need,” said Sablay.