Police chopper in pizza call
Police chopper makes special delivery for children’s party
APORT Elizabeth police helicopter was called in for an emergency at the weekend – getting hot pizza to a children’s home in Alicedale. And the fast food became even faster when the Port Elizabeth police helicopter delivered 200 pizzas to underprivileged children in the town.
The pizzas, sponsored by Debonairs, were loaded into the chopper at the Baywest Mall parking area.
They were then dropped off at a sports field in Alicedale where the annual Care Alicedale Christmas party was being held.
The project started five years ago when Port Elizabeth businesswoman Atari Webster met Alicedale social worker Phumla Gojela, who looks after the wellbeing of hundreds of orphans in the small community near Grahamstown.
“For the past five years we have had an annual fundraiser, and the money goes toward the Care Alicedale project. We see it as our way of giving back, not only to the underprivileged children, but also to Phumla who does incredible work in her community,” Webster said.
Each year, about 200 children are treated to a day of fun activities, goodie bags and presents delivered to them by Santa Claus.
For the last two years, the police have also come on board.
Police spokeswoman Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said they saw the event not only as an opportunity to help an underprivileged community, but also to build ties with the youth.
“The main purpose is to make it fun for the kids. They get very excited when they see the chopper coming in to land, and in the future we would like to take some of our officers from the mounted unit along.
“The added benefit is that we get the chance to build the children’s trust in the police,” Janse van Rensburg said.
“They get to see we are the good guys and we are there to help them.”
Gojela said she was very grateful for the annual event.
“We have a very poor community, and kids who have nowhere to go.
“Either they are orphaned or their parents cannot look after them, so an event like this means so much to these kids.”
She said the police presence was welcomed, not only to build relationships but for safety at the event.
“It’s great that the police get to work closely with the children. But it also helps to keep unwanted elements away from the party.
“An event like this draws attention from all kinds of people, and we need to keep the children safe on their special day,” Gojela said.