Keeping the wolf from the door
Impoverished communities benefit from Meal SA’S generous initiative, writes Sameer Naik
ONE image continues to haunt Mohammed Mahomedy.
The photograph, which was taken in April, shortly after the start of the national lockdown shows thousands of people forming a 4km queue snaking down a dirt road in Pretoria for food aid.
The image, which quickly went viral, was taken at the informal settlements of Mooiplaas and Spruit, and exposed the hunger and desperation of people living hand-to-mouth, long before the lockdown started.
Mahomedy, the former interim chief executive of Transnet, was at Mooiplaas that day, accompanying several NGOS who were handing out food to the thousands who desperately awaited a meal.
“I was devastated at how long the line was and wondered if everyone in the line would receive something to eat. It was an eye-opener of the reality on the ground,” he says.
He knew he couldn’t sit back and watch as millions of South Africans went hungry.
That night Mahomedy didn’t sleep. He spent hours searching for solutions to help alleviate the hunger crisis during lockdown.
“Globally, we have seen millions become unemployed in the recent months. South Africa already had a significant percentage of our population without employment.
“The pandemic only exacerbated the situation, particularly among those living on the breadline and more so refugees in our country,” he says.
“Refugees have no access to grants and social welfare and when they lose their jobs, the situation is dire. It means starvation. We saw the lines in Mooiplaas and Olievenhoutbosch, where tens of thousands were going without food daily and it was devastating.”
He developed the Meal SA initiative with the help of two youth organisations, the Sandton Islamic Association (SIA) and Fordsburg Muslim Youth Organisation (FMYO).
“At the outset, the objective was to find a sustainable food solution for families in distress and mielie meal as a staple food for the masses was identified as a possible solution,” explains Mahomedy.
“It was estimated that a family of four could have a staple on the table for at least two to three weeks with a 12.5kg bag.”
The idea took shape and a team of volunteers was assembled in April to implement the plan with an original target of 100 000 bags to be distributed.
“At the time, this was thought to be an ambitious target. However, this target has been exceeded now. We commenced a ‘marketing campaign’ to collect funds from communities, small businesses and the public at large.”
A key aspect at the start was that Meal SA would remain “areligious” and continue to serve the people of South Africa, regardless of religion.
In the first week of the initiative, Meal SA was able to collect around R500 000 and received pledges in excess of R1 million.
“Tiger Brands and the Willowton Group have come to the party with very competitive pricing and we started delivering mielie meal through partner NGOS on the ground and the Department of Social Development in Gauteng.
“By the end of April we had distributed over 16 000 bags of mielie meal to those in need and realised this was a niche initiative.”
It’s noteworthy, he says, that the donations received to date come from across the spectrum of South Africans.
“Small businesses have dug deep into their coffers to, at times, donate 1000 bags at R60 000.”
To date, Meal SA has distributed just over 1 100 tons across the country.
“With the grace of the Almighty, Meal SA has now involved itself in various humanitarian initiatives, including the provision of blankets and food hampers to the homeless in the greater Johannesburg and Sandton areas.
“We also assist in crisis and emergency situations, like to shack fires in Wynberg last weekend.”
In the last two weeks of June, while the province was gripped in extreme cold conditions, Meal SA together with the FMYO, SIA, Al Imdaad and Ashraful Aid and Caring Women’s Forum, distributed 1 700 blankets.
They have focused their winter warmth project on areas such as the inner City of Johannesburg, Mayfair, Brixton, Bez Valley, Kensington, Innisfree Park, and the greater Sandton area.
“A further 2000 blankets have been procured as we have received many requests for assistance including Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. These will be distributed in the coming weeks.”
Meal SA has also been focusing on providing medical equipment to impoverished communities during the lockdown.
So far, they have already assisted with medical equipment such as remote hospital beds, oxygen concentrators, wheelchairs, crutches, drip stands, blood pressure and glucometers, aspirators and bathroom aids.
Meal SA through FMYO have acquired close to 100 oxygenators, oximeters, hospital beds and wheelchairs, among others.
“These items are available to patients in need, at no charge, postassessment by our medical teams,” says Mahomedy.
Covid-19 has brought a different type of challenge. “The need now is for oxygenators, oximeters, hospital beds and other equipment. Many in our communities are not able to afford private health care.
“The public health care system is overloaded, and the need for homecare is rising for Covid-19. Home care is the first option, rather than flooding our hospitals that are already overburdened.”
Meal SA is a volunteer-based programme – no one earns a salary.
“We have more than 25 partner organisations across the country. Meal SA is reliant wholly on donations from South Africans.
“Some of our partners assist with distributions in areas they have the required knowledge and relationships. Others have assisted us in our fund-raising initiatives, by circulating campaign material to their vast databases.”
One major benefactor has been the South African Muslim Charitable Trust who have donated an amount of R1m.
“When an area is identified as ‘in need’, we mobilise the best placed NGO to conduct the analysis and together we formulate a solution, at the heart of which is the mielie meal.”
While the organisation has thrived, Mahomedy says there are challenges.
“The one challenge you will always have in these initiatives is separating the deserving cases from those that will abuse the system.
“We have tried tirelessly, without success, to devise a more equitable system to ensure the right people receive the assistance. This is crucial to protect the dignity of the less fortunate.”
Care must be taken to avoid the project being “overtaken” by politics, he says. “Donors are wary of the high levels of corruption, and only after much convincing, were we able to obtain funding from businesses. Donor fatigue in constrained economic circumstances is a reality and many corporates had to deal with the downturn in the economy and thus donations were limited.
“Accessing funds from the public sector is almost impossible with the current levels of bureaucracy and allegations of corruption even of the Solidarity Fund.”
He urges more South Africans to help. “For those of us who are fortunate to have a roof over our heads and no concern as to where the next meal will come from, we have an obligation to assist the less fortunate.
“Giving up one restaurant meal is all it takes. Donate that money to a cause you believe in.
“We must stand up as a country and help those in need, there is nothing to think about. As human beings, we owe it to those we live with.”
For more information visit www. mealsa.org
At the outset, the objective was to find a sustainable solution Mohammed Mahomedy
MEAL SA FOUNDER