Soweto residents get 200 food parcels

Two hundred food parcels were distributed to vulnerable communities and schools at the Ikageng Youth and Children Centre in Orlando West in Soweto recently.

These were made possible by the Nelson Mandela Foundation in partnership with multiple institutional stakeholders, funders and the public who stood in solidarity with the Each1Feed1 emergency relief food delivery initiative.

Sello Hatang, the chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, said the poverty in vulnerable communities has increased tremendously since the Covid-19 pandemic and the access to affordable nutritious food was a goal the foundation strived to achieve.

“Each1Feed1 seeks to assist vulnerable communities across South Africa to access affordable nutritious food which is a top priority for South Africa’s children,” Hatang said.

“We have a total of 700 food parcels to distribute to vulnerable communities in Gauteng in October which is also Hunger Month.

“Each food parcel is valued at R1,500 and includes fruit, vegetables and non-perishable foods which could last a family of four for a month.”

Hatang said for a society to be built it has to build its people first and therefore the foundation will continue to build the country in honour of Mandela. The Ikageng Youth and Children Centre is a non-profit Organisation which takes care of more than 1,000 children in Soweto and provides families with food parcels on a monthly basis, and teaches them to create nutritional gardens so families can produce the food they need.

Carol Dyantyi, who is the programme manager at Ikageng, said the centre catered mostly for children who were forced to become the head of their households because the parents had either passed away or abandoned them.

“Some of our children often go to bed without a meal and this is worrying because some are HIV positive,” Dyantyi said.

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