A community worker with the passion of a ‘pit bull’
Keith Blake says it was while was working as a shift commander in the South African Railway Police in the 1980s that he "picked up the love of the poor".
As a community worker, Mr Blake says that while he helps people from all walks of life, he has a particular passion for the residents of the Freedom Park squatter camp in Ottery.
Mr Blake was with the Railway Police from 1978 to 1986, when it was combined with the South African Police Force. With the advent of democracy in 1994, he went on to serve in SAPS before retiring in 2008.
"I knew there was something else waiting for me," he says.
He joined the Ottery Baptist church’s soup kitchen in 2009, and it was then, he says, that he saw the need in Freedom Park.
“It was one of my passions to help the poor, and I broke away from the church and started my own thing. I advertised in the paper that I am having an open hearts and open hands initiative and I need to give groceries to the poor."
With support from a sponsor, he says, he was able to provide the poor with thousands of rand worth of blankets, clothes and groceries, and this support, he adds, is ongoing, making it possible to provide food and clothing to 500 people every year.
Mr Blake’s sons, Morne and Andre are the president and vice president, respectively, of the Ottery Boyz MCC Biker Club, which collects toys every Christmas for needy children.
“I taught my children to treat other people the way you want to be treated, greet people and if ever you commit a crime, they know I was a police officer, do not call me because I will not help you. Thank God I never had any phone calls for any crime.”
Asked what drives him to help those in need, he says, “The so-called poor are treated like third-class citizens, and I decided to take up their cases and be their voice and do my best to help them.”
He says he has also written more than 500 emails over the years to the authorities advocating for the rights of the downtrodden.
“I believe in the power of the pen. If I see an issue, I would send an email to the officials and cc the media," he says.
Describing Mr Blake, former ward councillor Melanie Arendse says: “When he sinks his teeth into something he is like a pit bull and never gives up until he sees results. He wants to nurture it from the beginning until the end - that is Keith Blake. And that is the type of people that we need. There needs to be many of him."
Mr Blake says he has tried retiring twice now as a community leader, but the phone keeps ringing.
"People regard me as a helper, an anchor and a person they can confide in with any problem. I will listen, and if I can help, I will help.”
