Three schools in Soweto received aid for child-headed households
Over December, the Feed the Nation Foundation provided much-needed assistance to child-headed households around the country, with the delivery of food hampers to Mohato School for Autism in Naledi, WK Maponyane Primary School in Meadowlands, and McBain Charles Primary School in Eldorado Park.
Over December, the Feed the Nation Foundation provided much-needed assistance to child-headed households around the country, with the delivery of food hampers to Mohato School for Autism in Naledi, WK Maponyane Primary School in Meadowlands, and McBain Charles Primary School in Eldorado Park.
According to Dani Isaacs, the public relations officer, the children who received these hampers were the model of good behaviour at all the schools and did their schools proud, the McBain Primary School even sang a special song of thanks to the volunteers who delivered the hampers.
A child-headed household often has a living parent but is without parental care or income, which means the child is forced to assume this parental role of supporting the household.
Suzanne Ackerman-Berman, the transformation director at Pick ‘n Pay and trustee of the Feed the Nation Foundation, said that the need to support vulnerable families is greater now than at the start of the pandemic earlier in last year as communities were having to deal with the economic aftermath.
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“There are many instances where teenagers are running a home while still attending school or working,” “We’ve even heard of incidents where children as young as nine are having to support a four-year-old sibling,” she said.
Each food hamper was valued at over R500 and generally consisted of essential grocery items such as maize meal, rice, soup mix, flour, soya mince, cooking oil, salt, soap, and fresh vegetables, which was expected to provide food support for a family of four for up to one month.
In what started as the Feed the Nation campaign, and partnering with funders, Pick ‘n Pay customers, suppliers, and welfare organisations, Feed the Nation Foundation has provided over 23-million meals in the form of food hampers to date. This collective effort has not only helped feed school children, but also shelters, old-age homes, orphanages, and vulnerable communities during this crisis.
The national handovers were planned to be complete by mid-December 2020 before schools close for the holidays. By then more than 4000 child-headed households nationally received food hampers, the total value of which is just over R2.1 million.
“We are still urging customers to join us in feeding the nation. A donation of just R21 at our till points can help feed someone one meal for a week,” said Ackerman-Berman.
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