As Corporate South Africa, we can no longer ignore the plight of millions of children who go to bed hungry every night across South Africa.
On 16 August, Octodec, with the help of City Property staff, came together at 012central to pack over 129 000 meals for Rise Against Hunger which will feed 500 children with five meals a week for an entire year!
The Covid-19 pandemic halted many in-person CSI initiatives and operations, so we were excited to finally roll up our sleeves and get back to being part of the solution by packing meals with our partners from Rise Against Hunger.
3.1 million children experience chronic hunger daily which has a devastating effect on brain development. 90% of brain development happens before the age of five, and further one in five South African children under the age of six are developmentally delayed.
Beyond the facts and figures regularly used to explain hunger, understanding the full extent of starvation and malnutrition can be daunting. We applaud the work Rise Against Hunger does to end hunger by empowering communities, nourishing lives and responding to emergencies.
For over five years we have been committed to his project, providing almost 630 000 meals in that time. The meals are highly nutritious and comprise of rice, soya, dehydrated vegetable mix and fortifying minerals and vitamins, specifically formulated to combat malnutrition – and complies with the UNICEF standard.
As was done in the past, the meals will be distributed to early childhood development centres across Gauteng through the Rise Against Hunger network. This food drive serves as an imperative reminder of what can be accomplished when Corporate South Africa comes together for the greater good.
