Well-travelled container brings cheer to Cape community

In the world of freight
forwarding containers may be
two a penny, but for a small
community on the Cape Flats
it is life changing.
In Kleinvlei at Eerste
Rivier on the Cape Flats the
arrival of a new container,
renovated as a community
kitchen, was welcomed with
much fanfare last week –
even more so considering
it was handed over by none
other than the Lady Mayoress
of London, Claire Anstee.
One could however be
forgiven for not immediately
seeing the connection
between the small
community, the container and
the City of London.
In what can be described
as a unique way of reaching
out to the poor communities
of the world, the container
was donated to the people of
Kleinvlei after being used
by the BBC in a project
looking at globalisation and
international trade.
According to a spokesman
the project, launched by the
BBC in September 2008,
saw the container fitted
with a tracking device and
used as a living example
of globalisation and
international trade.
“People around the world
followed the progress through
the Internet as the container
during the twelve months of
the project travelled from the
United Kingdom to China,
Japan, the United States,
Brazil, Singapore, back
to Japan before ending its
journey in the UK again,”
said the spokesman.
In October last year the
BBC decided to give the
container to an African
charity, Breadline Africa,
for transformation into a
community kitchen. With the
handover effected in London
in November last year, the
container undertook its final
journey to Cape Town at the
end of 2009 where it was
refurbished on arrival.
Last week the newly
renovated container arrived
in Kleinvlei where Anstee
handed it over to the
community at a function at
the local school.
Among the dignitaries
who attended the event were
Clint Carmichael of NYK
Shipping Lines, who donated
the container, and Fundi
Maponyane of Maersk Line,
who transported it to
Cape Town.