01:00:01:00

South Africa has been under lockdown for over three weeks... and just before restrictions were due to be lifted, President Cyril Ramaphosa made a televised national announcement.

VO

01:00:12:18

This evening I stand before you to ask you to endure even longer. I have to ask you to make even greater sacrifices so that our country may survive this crisis and so that tens of thousands of lives may be saved.

Cyril Ramaphosa

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PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA

01:00:31:05

South Africa extended its national lockdown a further two weeks, meaning cities like Johannesburg will remain empty, with its 8 million residents continuing to be isolated at home.

VO

01:00:42:04

But the sprawling townships that house millions of the country’s working class face a particularly daunting challenge. With no work, no income, and unable to get to shops for food, millions are in a dire situation.

VO

 01:00:58:08

We are sitting in a very dangerous corner where we have the threat of the pandemic catching up with the secondary knock-on effect of the collapse of the economy. And this is unfortunately taking out the poorer communities first. For that reason, there is a need for a transport network that is organized and crew that is available to deliver on time.

Felix Gosher

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FELIX GOSHER

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS : COVID FLIGHT

01:01:20:09

Felix Gosher is a contract pilot who organises annual events like The Children’s Flight, which gives underprivileged children in the Johannesburg area their first flight experience.

VO

01:12:21:00

We have a database of pilots that are on hand to be of service. For this reason, under the situation the country faces itself, we’ve made our pilots available to the government as a tool to deliver goods and to alleviate suffering among the underprivileged and rural communities.

Felix Gosher

01:01:53:04

Private citizens like Menno Parsons are some of the pilots coming to help. He’s an experienced helicopter pilot and knows Felix from previous air show events.

VO

01:02:03:20

We got a call on Monday, and with the lockdown… Obviously the food distribution into the townships aren’t very controlled. Their normal chain of supply has been cut and a lot of the people that treat them as a beneficiary and put money towards the home ultimately have stopped because they want to survive themselves.

Menno Parsons

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MENNO PARSONS

COVID FLIGHT PILOT

01:02:26:07

Menno flies a Huey UH-1 helicopter, a 2-tonne military grade aircraft.

VO

01:02:32:11

The Huey’s, they use them for firefighting and all that type of thing.

In Vietnam days, they used to load lots of soldiers on them and use them for cargo. This helicopter specifically has been synonymous, has always been called the tiger. So I fly the air show circuit, and people just love this machine, ja.

Menno Parson

Today, Menno and his crew are delivering over 10 tons of food to the Winterveld Township in Northern Pretoria. Winterveld is located about 90 minutes north of Sandton, where Menno has just taken off. Trucks have been dispatched ahead of the helicopter, but due to the difficulty of getting deep into the township by road, Menno will make an initial supply drop, then ferry the rest of the supplies in from the trucks waiting nearby. By coordinating with local community organisers, they’ve pre-arranged a landing area and distribution system.

VO

MAP GRAPHIC LABELLING:

SOUTH AFRICA

WINTERVELT

SANDTON

PRETORIA

JOHANNESBURG

(CLEAN GRAPHIC AT END OF SUPPLIED TIMELINE)

01:03:27:13

One of those community organisers is Doris Molefe...

VO

01:03:32:17

Because of the lockdown, the children are not coming to school anymore. So we are feeding them, we are giving them the food parcels at home.

I’m focusing in the community work.

Doris Molefe

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DORIS MOLEFE

WINTERVELD CRECHE

01:03:44:21

Doris is one of those gems you don’t find often. She knows how to look after communities. She knows what this one Rand can do and how, how she can build on that one Rand and make it impactful to a society.

Menno Parsons

01:04:02:07

There was a great need - there is still a great need that we can help out with the people here. We working very close with guys like Menno Parsons to make sure that this initiative lasts. And we are able to reach out to at least thousand kids and over 300 households.

Lebogang Molefe

LOWER THIRD

DORIS MOLEFE

WINTERVELD CRECHE

01:04:22:15

Doris does help the community. She makes a difference. She makes an impact in the community.

Gabriel Ngobeni

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GABRIEL NGOBENI

WINTERVELD RESIDENT

01:04:28:14

I am sure that our people were going to go hungry if we did not come and bless them with these food parcels. They were going to go hungry up until the end of lockdown.

Lebogang Molefe

01:04:41:03

Each one of us can have some impact.  If anything, this thing is a reset for our nation. And it’s bringing our nation together.

Menno Parsons

01:04:49:07

In life when you have a problem, it’s more important about what you do with what you have than just the outcome itself. If everyone gives just a little bit, it goes a long way on the other side.

Lebogang Molefe

01:05:01:11

We are facing a difficult time. Whatever you have, if you can share it with the next person, it will be great. We need to carry each other. We can’t be isolated.

Lebogang Molefe