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.