Gift of the Givers feeds 4 000 students twice a day

It’s an organisation that normally rushes to help people in disaster zones and it has aided victims of earthquakes, tsunamis and famines – but Gift of the Givers is answering a dire humanitarian need in Joburg and is feeding 4 000 students twice a day on UJ’s four campuses.

Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman told The Citizen: “Often a student will tell you they have everything else – school fees paid for, text books, accommodation – but not food. This is something you hear across all four campuses. Kids are hungry!”

Sooliman said the organisation formed a partnership with the university four years ago and now feeds up to 4 000 students twice a day on all four of UJ’s campuses.

However, while they feed a vast number of students, not all get to taste the fruits of their labour.

A member of the EFF Students Command at UJ, David Raphanga, said: “Gift of the Givers doesn’t cater enough food for the students.”

However, the secretary of the ANC Youth League at UJ, Makaula Madiba Ndiphiwe, said: “Gift of the Givers feeds a lot of students. The issues that people should look into are the quality of the food that they give students and the issue of serving two meals to the students. Those are the problems that need to be addressed.”

Gift of the Givers spends between R25 million and R30 million a year to feed the needy students, but Sooliman said it was not enough.

“It is impossible to feed everyone that comes for food, we can only feed as many as we can. “The more resources we get, the more resources we can use. It would be ideal if companies came together and shared the budget …”

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