By Everson Luhanga
Almost 5,000 elderly and vulnerable people around the country face a bleak Christmas after thieves stole hundreds of donated gifts valued at over R1 million.
In the early hours of Sunday, the group of real-life grinches broke into Solidarity Helping Hand’s offices in Kempton Park and set about plundering the arrays of thoughtful gifts.
Spokesperson for Solidarity Helping Hand, Phillip Bruwer, said the gifts ranged from fragrant shampoos donated by pharmaceutical companies to Christmas treats such as chocolates.
He said that the thieves helped themselves to hundreds of boxes of treats that were intended to make the local elderly community’s Christmas a bit brighter.
“The thugs looted everything valuable they could lay their hands on – from our donations and computers to radios and prizes for our upcoming golf day on 17 November. A large generator, tools, and lawnmower were also stolen,” Bruwer added.
Mariolette Vorster, the charity’s regional organiser for Ekurhuleni, said a social worker, Charmanay de Klerk, went to the regional office on Saturday afternoon and saw that the gate’s electric motor had been tampered with.
De Klerk immediately called a local security company, but at this time none of the presents had been taken.
But on Sunday the company confirmed that there had been a break-in in the early hours of the morning.
“When we arrived on Sunday morning, we could immediately see something was wrong. Stuff was strewn all over the garden, and the burglars broke almost all the windows, burglar bars, and security gates,” said Vorster.
Vorster said they have opened a case at Kempton Park police station. No one has been arrested yet in connection with the burglary.
Vorster and her team are now working hard to collect new items for the elderly’s treat boxes and prizes for the golf day.
“We are devastated, but we will not let something like this get us down,” she said.
Vorster requests anyone with information about the incident or who knows where the stolen stock is to contact her at 078 523 2705.
Pictured above: Hundreds of boxes of Christmas gifts for the elderly were stolen
Source: supplied
