Above: Cindy with Dalo, who is coordinating food supplies.
On Tuesday night last week, Cindy Norcott was feeling heartbroken, angry, scared, exhausted, conflicted, betrayed and foolish, after 16 years of devoting herself to helping the greater community. “Anyone who knows me knows that my brain doesn’t stop. I am always thinking up ideas, creating new projects and trying to make a difference through my charity, The Robin Hood Foundation. I have come up with every idea in the book. I have worked alongside my board, our co-ordinators over the years and our beautiful ‘vollies’, doing an average of 130 projects per year. The past year has taken its toll with the impact COVID has had on the community. We haven’t stopped. So, on Tuesday night, I was shattered, I was broken and I was pissed off.”
Cindy loves the quote “Don’t get bitter, get better”. She also loves the quote “You are allowed one bad day and then you gotta be gangsta”. So she dragged out her big girl panties. “They are firmly in place and I am on a mission!” she says.
“It’s time to rebuild. We can’t afford to allow feelings get in the way, as much as it pains us. Let’s get into action and make it happen. How do you rebuild a rainbow nation? You start by cleaning up, by starting again, by feeding people. This is a humanitarian crisis. Nobody in South Africa is going to be unaffected by this horrific situation, one way or another. This is going to have a gruesome ripple effect on the national economy.”
It was Mandela’s birthday on Sunday. What would he have done? “He would have encouraged us to forgive, to put our feelings aside, to help, to give and to rebuild.
At The Robin Hood Foundation, we are inundated by desperate calls for food relief. We cannot keep up. It is devastating! Friends, we need your help,” says Cindy.
If you have spare and are willing and able to help, Cindy says this is how you can do it:
1) Donate to support our food drives – we have secured eggs and vegetables, and more supplies are coming in from various farmers on a regular basis. The bank account details are Nedbank account number 1648160948. The branch code is 164826. The SWIFT code (for international donations) is NEDSZAJJ. Every Rand donated goes directly to purchasing food. We can also supply section 18a certificates as we are a registered NPO/PBO.
2) If you know people outside of KZN around the country or internationally, please ask them to support by donating.
3) If anyone has food to donate, please email info@robinhoodfoundation.co.za. so we can co-ordinate food collections. Having said that, requests need to go to this email address, too.
4) Help people in your own areas with what you can spare.
“We are working with trusted community partners and organisations that we have had great relationships with for 16 years, so please don’t be concerned about food going into the wrong hands,” explains Cindy.
“I know many people are hurting and I do understand. Some of my best friends have lost entire businesses, after being philanthropists for years. Some of our dedicated volunteers have lost their prized possessions. It just isn’t fair. If you are not in a position to help, emotionally or financially, I understand and I send you love and I pray that you heal.”
“Never doubt that a thoughtful, committed group of citizens can change the world. After all, it is the only thing that ever has” – Margaret Mead, anthropologist.