2 500 sandwiches for street children

DAINFERN – Thousands of sandwiches prepared by Auto & General in honour of International Day for Street Children will go to feeding hungry mouths.

May 7, 2018

Robyn Kirk 1 minute read

Nikita Oosthuizen, Rene Knox, Elize Swart and Regina Bahr fill and seal completed pack lunches for distribution by Kids Haven. Photo: Robyn Kirk

The staff of Auto & General, based in Dainfern, worked together to provide thousands of sandwiches for needy children in honour of the International Day for Street Children. Although only 1 000 sandwiches were planned, by the end of the event more than double that number were handed over to an organisation which helps needy children.

“The International Day for Street Children takes place on 12 April,” explained Lisa Malek, the marketing and public relations coordinator for the company. “We [ran] a sandwich-making drive at our offices on 26 April where our staff aimed to make 1 000 [packs].”

Jonathan Bester butters the bread before other spreads are added to the slices. Photo: Robyn Kirk

Venecia Malatji, Brendaline Maweni and Ivy Ditshego work on buttering and packing the sandwiches. Photo: Robyn Kirk

After weeks of staff collecting and donating bread, spreads, juices and apples for the project, on 26 April a section of the Auto & General office building was cordoned off for the work to take place. For three hours, volunteers worked in 30-minute shifts preparing sandwiches and making lunch packs which would then be handed over to Kids Haven representatives.

Kids Haven is a non-profit organisation which supports and cares for homeless children and children in crisis in the Ekurhuleni area.

“I’m from the legal department here, and I’m assisting to make the sandwiches” explained Pfarelo Muroehi, a volunteer based in the legal department at Auto & General. “It’s a good thing to do. There are a lot of people out there who are hungry and need food, and I can help.”

Staff work in 30-minute shifts during the day to make the food. Photo: Robyn Kirk

A number of different spreads are used on the sandwiches including cheese, peanut butter and jam. Photo: Robyn Kirk

Over 125 loaves of bread were bought for the occasion, and even more were used on the day according to Ayanda Zwane, who works on corporate social initiatives for Auto & General. Although the target for the day was 1 000 packs (which included sandwiches, apples, a juice and chips), that mark was quickly reached and a whopping 2 500 packs were handed over by the end of the day.

“We chose this project because it was something we could do all together,” Malek added. “Each department might have their own outreach projects going on, but this was something everyone could get involved in.”

Details: www.kidshaven.org.za