MY family has benefited a lot from the kindness of the Food for the Poor programme, but even though we are in need, there are some things that make assistance that is given with conditions attached not worth collecting. I am speaking here of the fact that at Linden, the Food for the Poor programme is now allowing the Linden Salvation Council to distribute the items for its assistance programme in our community. This group is one of the organisations that is registered to contest the upcoming Local Government Elections. The Linden Salvation Council, however, is telling persons in need of the Food for the Poor assistance that they have to fill out forms that ask lots of personal questions about the people who live in your house, their ages and lots of other information. They are also saying that you must sign up to be a member of the Linden Salvation Council and vote for them before you could get the Food for the Poor supplies.

While I need the help, I am not going to let anyone tell me that I have to support them if I don’t want to. The truth of the matter is that I might have supported this group if they had not told me I had to, but making poor people feel like they have no choice and they have to tell you all about themselves before they get some assistance is wrong. I could only imagine that if they are doing this now, what they would do if they win local government elections.

I hope that the Food for the Poor organisation will take this matter seriously, and not let the Linden Salvation Council use this assistance to force people to support their political aspirations.