Feeding the future for Mandela Day
NORWOOD – The Angel Network and CAP security hosted a Mandela Day event at Norwood Mall on 18 July.
Along with other South Africans giving their 67 Minutes for Mandela Day on 18 July, the Angel Network hosted a special food parcel packing event at Norwood Mall.
The Angel Network, a social media based charity, worked alongside members of CAP security to put together food parcels to the value of R67 for Wits University students who are struggling to afford food for themselves. Melanie Ger of the Angel Network said they asked local residents to purchase R67 worth of groceries to make up the food parcels to be donated.
“All of the food that we collect go towards a campaign that we are running called Feed the Future,” she said. “We were alerted to students at Wits University specifically, who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, and they are offered bursaries but they are unable to afford food so it’s difficult to study.”
The Angel Network partnered with the existing food programme at the university. Wits University engineering faculty member, Tebatso Phala said, “Through the research we have been doing, we realised that part of the reason there are students failing is revolved around accommodation and food. They [students] work hard to get money for tuition, but they are short in terms of food or a place to stay.
“So what we decided was to take away the problem of food through the food programme we have on campus. So they are able to get food from the university, but we noticed that during the weekend or the evening when everything isn’t operating, we started this partnership with the Angel Network to help them have food to eat in their rooms.”
