Silverstar and Sector 4 CPF launch Mandela Day drive
From now until Mandela Day, staff are encouraged to fill bags with a range of non-perishable food items.
The harsh reality of poverty in South Africa is continuing to increase, according to the Oxfam Inequality Report released in January, which stated that over 30,4 million people live in poverty.
Silverstar and the Sector 4 Community Policing Forum (CPF) are taking action together in honour of Mandela Day on 18 July, and are launching a food collection drive, the proceeds of which will be distributed to households in Pangoville, an informal settlement in Munsieville, on Mandela Day.
Adele Wilson, Silverstar CSI Manager, said the property continues to strive to be responsive to need in the local community. “This food drive will impact lives, providing much-needed sustenance in many homes and showing the community that there are people who care, while also giving staff members who may not be in a position to go out on Mandela Day, the chance to be involved in giving,” said Wilson.
From now until Mandela Day, staff are encouraged to fill bags with a range of non-perishable food items including rice, mealie meal, cereal, samp, pasta, dried beans, lentils, tinned fish, soya mince, milk powder, jam, peanut butter, canned vegetables, and cooking oil, as well as toiletries.
The Sector 4 CPF premises at 282 Voortrekker Road, Noordheuwel, is a collection point for members of the public who want to join the food drive and drop off nutritious items for the informal settlement households. Call 064 169 7922 for more details. Sharday van den Berg, Sector 4 Public Relations Officer, said the CPF address will be an ongoing collection point for all future drives, and people are encouraged to get involved in supporting the less fortunate of the community. “This and further initiatives reflect the growing collaboration between businesses, NPOs, and the community, and demonstrates that the community is our top priority,” Sharday said.
Stats SA lists hard-hitting facts about poverty in South Africa according to the Living Conditions Survey of 2014/ 2015 (the most recent) as:
• About half of the adult South African population were living below the poverty line.
• Female-headed households experienced poverty most.
• Poor children were twice as likely to have no access to safe play areas.
• Poor households headed by women were less likely to have access to water, sanitation, and refuse removal.
Anneke Potgieter, Silverstar Operations Director and Complex GM, said that collaborative efforts with other organisations, such as the Sector 4 CPF, aimed at bringing some relief to the debilitating cycle of poverty with initiatives such as food drives, must be ongoing. “We need to be more aware of the extremely difficult conditions that so many of our fellow South Africans, and especially women and children, are battling with every day, and get involved to make a difference in their lives,” she said.
