Honour Mandela Day and help pack food
Building on success of last year’s programme
COMPANIES and individuals wishing to do their 67 minutes for Mandela Day by packing food for the national Stop Hunger Now campaign have until midday today to sign up for the initiative which takes place at Hemingways Mall on Saturday.
Last year more than 1 000 East Londoners packed 305 000 meals for people living below the poverty line.
The Daily Dispatch is the media partner of the campaign, and, like last year, will send an energetic team to assemble healthy packs of rice, soya and soup mix which will be distributed to disadvantaged communities in recognition of Mandela Day on July 18.
“It is always a pleasure to be part of this event as there is an amazing atmosphere of camaraderie,” said Daily Dispatch acting general manager Ryan Megaw.
“We are even more thrilled to have Johnson & Johnson, East London, our partners in the Local Heroes initiative, to join our team. This is a great way for our staff to work together in the fight against hunger and malnutrition and to really live the Local Heroes ethos that anyone can make a difference in the lives of others.”
Last year, several Local Hero Awards recipients from 2015 and 2016 received meals from Stop Hunger Now, including uThixo uLungile Ministries in Stoney Drift, Kusile Women’s Centre (White Door of Hope in Stutterheim) and New Start Daycare, near Willowdale.
Also among the beneficiaries were the independent Hope Schools in Wilsonia. Between Little Sparklers Educare and Hope Preparatory School the schools cater for 235 impoverished children from Grade 00 to Grade 8, all of whom have been affected, infected or orphaned by HIV/Aids.
Hemingways Mall marketing manager Estee Roos said Hope Schools would once again benefit.
Principal Nigel Raw said almost 90% of the pupils are bussed to and from school every day and also receive a cooked breakfast and lunch as well as healthy snacks.
He said almost 9 000 meal packs had been incorporated into the school feeding programme. Each meal pack can feed up to 10 children or a family of six.
“We have also been able to provide meal packs to feed the children and their families during the school holidays, when they are at home and not under our care,” he said.
Roos said the meal packs allowed many non-profit organisations to divert sparse funding to other operating costs.
Chief executive of Vektronix electronics manufacturer Siphiwe Cele said the number of the firm’s participating employees would double to 40 this year.
Roos said a team of 20 volunteers manning a “production line” can pack an average of 3 200 meals in a 67-minute shift and that individual members of the public as well as corporate teams were welcome to volunteer for one of three shifts running on Saturday. A limited number of lines are still available for corporate sponsorship at R12 000 per line.
To register email
or call Thomas Gulston on 060-98-1459. —