NOAH’s Athlone Knitwits recently brought warmth, dignity and love to pensioners waiting in the cold outside SASSA, reminding the community that its elders deserve to be seen, celebrated and supported.
Cape Town, South Africa (25 August 2026) – More often than should be the case, countless elders wake up before the crack of dawn to get ready to stand in what is often a very long queue outside SASSA offices to collect, or otherwise inquire about, their monthly pension, grants, applications and the like.
It is a reality that has become the norm, but nonetheless not an easy one for those travelling from far places to reach the offices, often enduring the biting cold of winter and the discomfort of long waits.
In their ongoing efforts to support the needs of the elderly, members of the NOAH Athlone Knitwits recently headed to the SASSA queue outside Athlone Shoprite to hand out blankets to pensioners waiting in the cold.
No fuss. No fanfare. Just warmth, right where it was needed most, as the charity put it.
And in another heartwarming moment, one of NOAH’s seniors, who is now bedridden, celebrated her 99th birthday last Thursday and received a blanket at her home.
“Ninety-nine years of life and still being seen, still being celebrated and still being wrapped in love,” NOAH said eloquently, highlighting the impact it seeks to make on the community’s eldest and most cherished.
Started in 1981, NOAH is a registered NPO and PBO that offers a unique, progressive, strengths-based solution to addressing the challenges experienced by seniors.
The uniqueness lies in the integrated nature of its model, which provides a full bouquet of services to facilitate active, healthy and independent living. Despite their limited income, NOAH elders have their basic needs met, enjoy a sense of esteem and purpose, and contribute to their own families, the NOAH family and society as a whole – just as the Athlone Knitwits beautifully demonstrated recently. Because communities are at their best when those who have walked the path before us are cared for.
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