Life needs to find new premises
Alida de Beer
The Christian non-profit organisation Life Community Services has been trying to find alternative premises since mid-2018 after their rental agreement came to an end.
CEO Maryna de Vries is now turning to the community for help and has called a meeting for tonight (Thursday) for Life's coworkers and business partners, also inviting all interested people who are able to assist. The meeting starts at 17:00 at Shofar Church in Commercial Close.
De Vries says they are relieved that their landlord, Aboobaker Ismail, has agreed to give them leeway until the end of January. "The landlord has been very accommodating and will allow Life to stay on the premises on a month-to-month basis until we interfere with the building operations. Hopefully it will give us enough time to come up with a plan."
Ismail's attorney, Terry Winstanley, confirmed that the site on the corner of Mandela Boulevard and Main Road in Parkdene, is to be developed as a filling station. "The land has been zoned as a filling station for several years, and the environmental authorisation was finalised last year."
Life has been operating from the premises for the past 17 years where more than 1 000 children receive a meal every day. The premises house the kitchen where the food is prepared, the Isipho sewing project, a recently established private school (Grades 1 to 3), an aftercare facility, vegetable gardens as well as offices. Life needs a similar sized property in the same area close to the communities they serve.
"These premises are centrally situated. If we are not here anymore, where will the children go? Our school is so popular, we can fill many more classrooms if we had the means. There is a long waiting list. Our standard of schooling is excellent and our children stand out among their peers. Relocating to another area is not an option, so we are looking for an alternative and are open to suggestions from friends and the business community."
De Vries says ideally they would like to purchase a property, but for this they would need a huge sponsorship.
Winstanley says his client will develop a filling station on the property as soon as all the building permissions have been issued. "The school [Life] was notified early this year that it would need to vacate the property at the end of December. It has been agreed that they may remain till the end of January in the hope that they will be able to find alternative premises. My client is extremely supportive of the school's efforts to find new premises."
De Vries says tonight's meeting will include a presentation on Life's activities so that people can gain perspective on the work they do in the community. "We would like advice as to how to re-route a very sad and desperate situation for Life."