Afrika Tikkun fights hunger in Alex

Impoverished residents of Alexandra will no longer have to go to sleep on empty stomachs.

This follows the striking of a partnership between the Jewish charity organisation, Afrika Tikkun and the Gauteng Department of Social Development, whose sole purpose is that of feeding the hungry members of the community of this historic township.

This also includes those community members who might have lost their jobs as a result of the twin problems of Covid-19 and the recent wave of looting and destruction of shops and warehouses which engulfed Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, with Alexandra being one of the hardest hit areas in Johannesburg.

The feeding scheme, known as the Community Nutrition Development Centre (CNDC), which is located at Afrika Tikkun’s Phuthaditjaba Centre at the heart of the once socially vibrant township, was established in April and so far caters for 250 beneficiaries.

“This figure [250] is by no means static, as it continues to grow from day-to-day as more members of the community continue to pour in as word of the feeding scheme spreads,” said CNDC senior social worker Thokozani Mhlanga during an interview with Alex News.

Mhlanga said beneficiaries were interviewed when they visited the centre. “This process allows us to pick up on various social problems such as marital issues to which we then refer the couples to Famsa [Family and Marriage Society of South Africa] while those with drug addiction problems are referred to Sanca [South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence].”

For those who might need social grants, Mhlanga said they were referred to Sassa (South African Social Security Agency) and children who should be attending an Early Childhood Development Centre were enrolled at the in-house crèche.

Meals are served on Monday to Friday and the centre is closed over the weekend, Mhlanga said, adding that they also catered for casual meal seekers as they could not turn anyone away.