Helping the Van Dyk Park CPI to assist their community
Good Morning Angels assisted the Van Dyk Park CPI with R25,000 towards their medical kits and other community service projects.
Communities across the country have been mobilising themselves against crime over the past years in the form of Community Policing Forums or Initiatives. There are currently over 300 registered CPIs, made up of volunteers and which are fully self-funded. One of these is the Van Dyk Park CPI, between Boksburg and Brakpan on the East Rand.
The 20 patrollers volunteer their time, skills, and own resources to serve their community of around two thousand households as first responders in all manner of crises, from crime to injuries, electricity issues, and vehicle crashes.
The Van Dyk Park CPI was started some eight years ago when incidents of crime became overwhelming and the local police resources just could not cope.
On their own steam and with the support from residents, the CPI has, over the years, set up a control room, cameras in hotspots like areas where cables are regularly stolen, 400 radios in different homes and community concerns, bought a tractor to cut their own sidewalks and public lawns, and they have 20 patrollers who "patrol the streets at night and during the day… we help the community in need, we have a WhatsApp group for emergencies, from crime to anything.”
They also assist the residents in the old age home, take food parcels to residents in need, and assist the authorities with crime prevention and traffic control after vehicle accidents.
CPI committee member Alida Jordaan has been involved for the past six years. She says their patrollers are often the first responders at medical emergencies: “Many of our residents do not have medical aid, and they cannot afford private ambulance services. To wait for state services can take up to six hours, and quick action can be the difference between life and death."
For this reason, eight of their patrollers have received First Aid Training, which was sponsored, but now they need medical kits that could cost up to R4,000 each. That’s why community member Charlene Kotze wrote to Good Morning Angels.
Listen here:
REQUEST FOR: The Van Dyk Park CPI represented by committee member Alida Jordaan
REQUEST FROM: Charlene Kotze
ANGEL: The Good Morning Angels Fund NPC
SPONSORING: The Good Morning Angels Fund will assist the Van Dyk Park CPI with R25,000 towards their medical kits and other community service projects.
ORIGINAL REQUEST:
"Good morning, Jacaranda and the Good Morning Angels team
Trust that this mail finds you well.
We are a community that stands together no matter how dangerous the situation is.
We are patrollers from Van Dyk Park, Boksburg; we call ourselves CPI Patrollers.
What we basically do is patrol the streets at night, and during the day, we help the community in need. We have a WhatsApp group for Emergencies.
We help the community with food, shelter and safety.
Our Patrollers are out in full we don't expect anything in return from the community.
The reason for my mail today we need help or a sponsorship on First aid Medical Bags with equipment so that we could be able to help the community in medical assistance when they really need it to prevent them from dying or get bad infections from wounds and so on for waiting for state ambulances.
We took the opportunity that we had a sponsorship from the church which paid for 8 patrollers to do our level 3 First aid courses, but we didn't have the capital per patroller to buy a first aid medical bag.
We really want to make a difference in the community so that we would be able to provide this assistance. We would like it if Good Morning Angels could assist.
We would appreciate your assistance.
Charlene Kotze"
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