For more than a decade, Pharos Community Centre has been providing food, dignity and hope to vulnerable families and men through a remarkable community effort.
Pretoria, South Africa (16 July 2026) – Neighbours helping neighbours is one of the simplest and most powerful forms of kindness, especially when it arrives in the form of a carefully packed food parcel.
For more than 17 years, Pharos Community Centre in Garsfontein, Pretoria, has become a place where compassion is turned into action. Since opening its doors on 01 March 2009, the centre has remained committed to supporting vulnerable individuals and families, ensuring that those facing difficult circumstances know they are not alone.
Every week, volunteers gather around tables lined with staple foods, packing parcels that will soon make their way into homes where they are needed most. While the contents include essentials like maize meal, rice, pasta and canned goods, each parcel carries something just as valuable: reassurance, dignity and the knowledge that someone cares.
The centre currently provides monthly food parcels to around 25 families in the Pretoria community. In addition, every Thursday, volunteers prepare between 60 and 80 food parcels for men attending the centre’s Life Skills group, offering practical support alongside encouragement and personal development.
It’s work that has become a cornerstone of the community, made possible by people who generously give their time each week.
“It is a privilege to come to Pharos and serve the community. You realise just how blessed you are through the simple act of packing food parcels,” shared one of the volunteers.
For many of the volunteers, it’s about far more than filling bags with groceries. They’ve found friendship, purpose and a sense of belonging through serving others, saying that the camaraderie they share inspires them to keep coming back week after week.
As the need for food support continues, Pharos Community Centre is calling on the wider community to help keep this essential outreach going. Donations of non-perishable food items such as canned goods, rice, pasta, soya mince, maize meal, cooking oil, and Cup-of-Soup can make a meaningful difference to families and individuals who rely on the programme.
Those wishing to contribute can drop donations off at the centre at 777 Jacqueline Rylaan, Garsfontein, Pretoria, from Monday to Thursday between 08:00 and 16:00, or on Fridays between 08:00 and 13:00. Collection can also be arranged by contacting the centre directly.
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Sometimes changing a life begins with something as simple as a bag of groceries packed with kindness.
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