Covid-19: A lifeline to the hungry of Iterileng informal settlement

The fear that people will die of hunger before they die of Covid-19 is a sentiment shared by many humanitarians.

Social cohesion advocate and humanitarian, Catherine Constantinides, said, “The power of civil society is felt at times such as these.

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“We cannot discriminate when it comes to feeding our communities.

“Our people will die of hunger before they die of Covid-19 if we continue like this.”

Morning spent with #MealSA and many organizations who came together to ensure the communities around Laudium are fed. 11 000 food parcels, loaves of bread and bags of mielie meal were distributed. I applied the remarkable teams behind the distribution. @Abramjee @OperationSA1 pic.twitter.com/NZHgNCglB8

— CATHERINE CONSTANTINIDES (@ChangeAgentSA) May 20, 2020

 

She said she applauds the collective effort of solidarity where people are fed and communities and businesses, who partner to try and fill hungry stomachs.

Earlier today, 11 000 bags of maize meal, loaves of bread, food hampers, soap, sanitiser and masks were distributed to residents of the Iterileng informal settlement near Laudium in Pretoria

Queues started forming from 4am and at times they stretched for about 3kms.

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A local football stadium was filled with hundreds of people forming lines that continued into the informal settlement.

The distribution was a joint initiative of Meal SA, Operation SA, SANZAF, Pepkor, the Tshwane Muslim community, Valtrans, Foodline, Advance Cash n Carry, Kit Kat Cash & Carry, and others.

Social activist and joint coordinator, Yusuf Abramjee, said, “The need for food is massive and people are desperate.

Food distribution in Iterileng today near Laudium. #MealSA @OperationSA1 @SANZAFSA #TshwaneMuslims and others. Well done. Thank you to all the donors. @Abramjee pic.twitter.com/CaqVtdmolZ

— Operation SA (@OperationSA1) May 20, 2020

“We have a crisis. It all went well.”

“We are happy to have made a difference to our neighbours in need,” said another coordinator, Shakeel Amod.

Asgar Akoob, from the community who also coordinated, said the distribution of food and sanitary products follows a previous distribution in the Mooiplaas and Spruit informal settlements which saw to the needs of close to 10 000 recipients.

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