A good Samaritan has come to the aid of a non-profit organisation after it was left reeling by theft and vandalism.
The Neighbourhood Old Age Home (Noah), which provides accommodation and work for the elderly and poor, has been renovating a shop on the corner of Regent Street and Essex Street in Woodstock with the hope of moving its Jou ma se Kos takeaway there, but last November, the shop’s electrical wiring, the distribution board and pre-paid electricity meter were stolen from the site, leaving the non-profit more than R150 000 out of pocket, according to Noah director Jane Mills.
On top of the repair bill, Noah had also needed to improve security at the premises, she said.
An electrical and plumbing company had then offered to do all the rewiring work for free.
“It’s unbelievable that they could provide us with this support, and this is special as this is a community project we are working on,” she said.
Daniel Schmidhauser, the company’s owner, said they were thrilled to be helping Noah. “The elderly need love just like the children do,” he said.
Woodstock police station commander Colonel Delvyn Matroos confirmed they were investigating but no arrests had been made.
Ms Mills said renovations at the shop, to be called the Corner Shop, should be completed by May but public support for the project would be welcomed.
Apart from housing the takeaway, the Corner Shop will also be used to store donations for Noah’s Selling Seconds charity shop
Anyone who would like to help, can visit noah.org.za, email jane@noah.org.za or call 021 447 6334.
