DURBAN - On Nelson Mandela International Day, the Nelson Mandela Foundation together with its partners the Imbumba Foundation and the Kolisi Foundation launched the #Each1Feed1 Digital Voucher in Potchefstroom, North West Province.
The launch was in partnership with Boxer Superstores and Pick ‘n Pay.
At the Boxer Superstore in Potchefstroom ten beneficiaries demonstrated how the new voucher system works. The system has been introduced as a delivery mechanism preferred to the physical food parcel system because of its flexibility and its prioritisation of beneficiaries’ agency and individual preferences. Physical deliveries will remain as an option in contexts where the voucher system won’t work.
From Potchefstroom, the partnership team moved to communities in and around Klerksdorp which are suffering from extreme poverty and inequality. A total of 2 000 #Each1Feed1 food packs were delivered, each one designed to support a family for approximately a month. The team then joined President Cyril Ramaphosa in spending time with the children of Ikageng Orphanage in Orlando West, Soweto.
Despite Covid19, Mandela Day activations took place in many parts of South Africa. For instance, the Deputy Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Makhotso Sotyu handed over 250 eco-furniture school desks to Ladybrand and Manyatseng Primary Schools in Ladybrand, Free State. Also handed over were face masks, school bags, school shoes, fleece blankets, sanitizers, hygiene packs, water tanks, garden tools, recycling waste bins and sanitary towels. The same provisions were also donated to Manyatseng Old Age Home.
Many privileged communities in South Africa and in other countries used Mandela Day to distribute food and other basic provisions to those in need.
The Foundation was not alone in celebrating Nelson Mandela International Day. As the custodians of the Mandela Day campaign, the foundation thanked everyone wherever they are in the world who made this day an opportunity to take #ActionAgainstPoverty.