Graca Machel packs food parcels in Sandton
SANDTON - A massive two-city volunteer meal packaging drive organised by Stop Hunger Now Southern Africa, kicked off at Tsogo Sun's Sandton Convention Centre.
This initiative will see organisers, corporate and private sponsors, celebrities and thousands of volunteers package a million meals in five 67-minute shifts by the end of Mandela Day.
Every volunteer will package enough food to feed a child three meals a week for a year.
Graça Machel, widow of the beloved icon, opened the 8am shift with a heart-warming address. “Wherever Madiba is today, you can be sure he’s smiling,” she said.
A number of celebrities will also be taking part in the packaging of meals. These include Masterchef South Africa judge, Benny Masekwameng, fashion designer, Gert-Johan Coetzee, Big Brother Mzansi 2014 Runner-Up, Iris Miya, models Joelle Kayembe and Kerry McGregor, TV personalities Bonang Matheba, Kuli Roberts and Zuraida Jardine, singers Chad Saaiman, Jacques Terreblanche and Louise Carver, celebrity trainer Steve Mululu, former Miss Earth, Tamerin Jardine, and comedian Tshepo Mogale.
An estimated 5 000 volunteers will package a total of 745 000 meals during their 67-minute shifts. Each shift at the centre will be launched with a candle-lighting ceremony hosted by Stop Hunger Now members, and volunteer ambassadors such as Madiba’s great-grandson Luvuyo Mandela and Springbok Pierre Spies.
According to the National Development Plan, 11.5 million impoverished children are vulnerable to hunger in South Africa. Child Gauge studies state that hunger-related childhood illnesses remained key drivers of mortality in children under five years old, and that children experiencing malnutrition in the crucial early development phases were most likely to experience learning difficulties.
Non-profit organisation, Stop Hunger Now SA is on a mission to get specially prepared nutritional meal packs to young children at crèches and pre-schools.
