Feed South African Children During the Covid Lockdown-Dear Friends and Colleagues, -Even before the coronavirus arrived, many nations were already suffering from extreme hunger because of war and climate change. Now, while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are also on the brink of a hunger pandemic at the same time, where women and children are hit the hardest. -With the Covid-19 lockdown in South Africa, entering its 4th month now and about to hit its Covid peak, the Cape Flats community needs our support!! -In partnership with the Philisa Abafazi Bethu, a women’s and children’s rights NGO, I am raising funds to support them in providing meals to children in the Cape Flats, an area of forced settlement of the apartheid regime, infested with gangsterism and drugs and a particularly tough neighborhood for kids to grow up in. They usually provide one meal to about 3000 children a day but are only able to provide to 1500-1700 children today due to a lack of funds. -I spoke with the director of the organization recently, Lucinda Evans, a human rights activist who comes from the community and leading a team of lockdown heroes, where she told me that they’re not getting any support from the South African government, so they rely fully on donations. -One child’s meal only costs them around EUR 0.5 (ZAR 10) so any small donation will go a long way in feeding some of these children.- -According to David Beasley, the United Nation’s World Food Program Executive Director, children are particularly vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition, which is why these organizations are prioritizing the kids. He also recently warned the UN Security Council that there’s a big risk that the Covid pandemic will soon be followed by a Hunger pandemic, where we could be facing multiple famines of biblical proportions within a short few months, especially in communities in countries across Africa and the Middle East, because the virus threatens further damage to the lives and livelihoods of people already put at risk by conflict... -There are so many communities across the globe that needs this type of support right now, if this particular one is not of interest to you, please try to find one that is, so we can support the less fortunate who do not have the privilege of having a salary and having access to the basic human necessities while we are fighting through this pandemic. If you're interested in finding something similar in a different context, please feel free to reach out and I can share with you how I located this NGO and how to manage the transfer of funds. -The actions we take today will save lives tomorrow... -Many thanks for your generous support and for sharing this with anyone you believe would be interested in contributing. -Warm Regards,Faadiya Darries
