Thousands of heroes have kept us going through lockdowns with hard work and a determination to do their jobs and help others. Simone Richardson talks to one of them …
Victor Zozan works as a senior caretaker for the Cowley estate on Brixton Road.
Every Thursday since the beginning of the first three-month lockdown in March he has brought round food and drink for residents.
In the bags they find bread, milk, fruit, veg, tinned stuff, sometimes crisps, tea bags, loo roll, pasta, and more.
And this Christmas, he tells me, for the first time, the estate gave a Christmas Santa bag, including shortbread biscuits in a musical tin – which are delicious!
His weekly distribution of food will carry on until lockdowns are over, he says.
Victor lives in the Old Kent Road area with his wife and two daughters. Throughout 2020 he has managed to mask his way on the bus to work in Brixton.
“The lockdown was very, very difficult,” he says, “but we were on the frontline and we all came to work here to help people because we had to.”
I’ve lived in Lambeth for 33 years and having moved nearer to Brixton, this is the first time I have experienced such a thing, so I must relay this gift of kindness that is now part of Victor’s job.
“I really enjoy doing it,” Victor says. “We meet a lot of people, very different people. I love helping tenants sort out house problems and helping to make them feel safe.”
Victor has been working on the Cowley estate, which is run by its own residents management organisation, for seven years.
He says his favourite part of the job is helping people, which he most certainly does!
So thanks Victor to you and your team for all you do and making it a Merrier Christmas through lockdown.
