Thandanani’s Covid-19 food insecurity relief

None of the children that Thandanani cares for will go hungry this Christmas thanks to an additional R500 000 funding from Old Mutual. The foundation also found itself registering as an essential service, enabling it to continue to serve the families in its care.

Thanks to the generous donation of Old Mutual, Thandanani was able to ensure none of the children it cares for went hungry throughout the lockdown. The organisation also called for donations and support from the public and secured additional donations toward food vouchers, as well as donations in-kind, such as non-perishable food items, clothing and activity packs for children, which were designed by Thandanani’s Early Childhood Development (ECD) partner, Singakwenza.

These donations enabled Thandanani to continue to provide emergency relief to all the families on their database. Additionally, the foundation was able to increase the available amount for emergency food relief each month until March 2021. It was also able to offer their full package of services during lockdown, including health education and Covid-19 screening.

In the Mid-Year Director’s report, Thandanani Director, Andrew Duncan, said that based on the foundation’s yearly progress, they are confident that Thandanani would reach its annual targets for most activities by the close of the financial year in March 2021.

“The fact that Thandanani has been able to continue to provide services and support to our beneficiaries throughout the lockdown and even expand those services aimed at bolstering the resilience of families, is testament to the understanding and generosity of our donors and the public, and to the commitment of all our staff and fieldworkers. Without you, none of this would have been possible and the children and families we serve would have struggled alone through this crisis. As such, we extend our sincere appreciation to all those who made this possible,” Duncan said in his report.

Near the beginning of lockdown, Thandanani set out to conduct rapid needs assessments on the 198 families on the foundation’s database to assess the immediate impact the lockdown had on households. They discovered that of the families surveyed, 92% of families’ income fell below the lower-bound poverty line, being less than R810 per month, with 81% falling below the food poverty line, with a capita income of less than R516 per month, even before lockdown.

However, their mid-year report also revealed that 67% of households with well-maintained food gardens had adequate or above adequate food supply compared to 46% of households without a food garden. Similarly, of the total number of households that reported going without at least one meal within the three week initial lockdown, 72% did not have a functional food garden.

When asked what their greatest need was, 89% of caregivers said it was food. As a result of the survey, Thandanani realised the need to prioritise on food security and Covid-related health education. Thandanani then responded by distributing activity packs for children, scheduling monthly support visits and providing each family with three months of emergency food relief.

Realising the value of their food garden and self-help activities, Thandanani also set about negotiating with existing donors to reallocate their funding to prioritise these programmes within their community.