Liberty joins forces with Rise Against Hunger on Mandela Day
JOBURG – Rise Against Hunger and Liberty put together more than 150 000 food parcels to provide underprivileged children with five meals a week for a whole year.
More than 900 employees of financial services group Liberty, in partnership with non-profit organisation Rise Against Hunger joined forces to commemorate their 67 minutes in support of Mandela Day.
Last year, having exceeded their initial target of 90 000 meals, this year the Liberty team set out to pack more than 150 000 food parcels for underprivileged children across the country. And they far exceeded this target by putting together more than 200 000 food parcels.
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These parcels were collected by Rise Against Hunger, an international organisation committed to eradicating hunger globally, and distributed to early childhood development centres in need of the assistance.
According to research quoted by the organisation, food security is a major issue in South Africa and Africa at large. An estimated 3.1 million children face chronic hunger in South Africa. Some of the most affected and vulnerable groups are small children at pre-school level.
Chief marketing and communications officer at Liberty, Sydney Mbhele said if children were well fed, they were able to concentrate on their studies and enjoy other developmental aspects of their lives.
“Liberty has recognised that hunger can be a barrier to the learning process in the classroom,” he said. “As an organisation, we believe that education is a vehicle to addressing the country’s challenges, while eliminating poverty and reducing inequality in our society.”
Liberty’s partnership with Rise Against Hunger is one of the company’s many initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable development within local communities.
“Liberty’s Corporate Social Investment (CSI) efforts are focused on education,” added Mbhele. “We believe that our initiatives should contribute to building a thriving economy which is vital to our collective destiny, and will light the way to financial prosperity for generations of Africans to come.”
Nomaxabiso Matjila, head of CSI at Liberty, reiterated the words of Mbhele and said, “The aim of these drives by Liberty is to address the psycho-social needs of learners and also focus on teacher and learner development.”
In the coming third quarter of this year, Liberty will initiate a school library drive across the country ensuring children have access to quality libraries.
“Our initiatives are not just for one day on Mandela Day, but throughout the year. We are always looking for ways to help communities in need,” concluded Matjila.
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