Humanitarian aid organisation Gift of the Givers has intervened with much-needed food donations in impoverished communities affected by Cape Town’s taxi strike, providing meals to pupils who have been unable to go to school since last week, and making door-to-door deliveries for the frail.
Gift of the Givers said it was donating over 15,000 bread loaves, samp, maize meal, rice, non-perishable foods, meat, chicken, soups, beans, fresh vegetables and fruits, and cereal, to the poor communities of Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Nyanga, Mfuleni, Dunoon, Mitchell's Plain, Highlands Park and Bishop Lavis, among other areas.
Spokesperson for the organisation Ali Sablay said there was a dire need to assist thousands of pupils who had been unable to go to school since last Thursday.
The government's National School Nutrition Programme is the only source of food for some of the poorest pupils in the province, and with the taxi strike showing no signs of ending, Sablay said it was important to provide relief for families.
“We are grateful to Sasko for the 15,000 loaves of bread they have donated. We are distributing those to all the soup kitchens who are then making sandwiches to distribute to the communities, especially the elderly who need to take their medication and to those who are ill and cannot stand in the queues,” said Sablay.
He said the poor would be getting food hampers so they could cook at home and ensure people did not starve due to the strike.
Sablay said the organisation supported hundreds of soup kitchens operating in the Western Cape.
“Hunger is endemic in the Western Cape as it is in many other regions of the country.
“Gift of the Givers periodically delivers food parcels to communities in the Western Cape and during disasters, we feed not only the direct victims of flood and fire damage but neighbours also as we have witnessed the intense hunger which was certainly prevalent before the disaster struck.
“We have increased disaster feeding from three to seven days, observing the little children eat with such deep contentment and gratitude within their souls is a very moving experience.
“The taxi unrest in the Western Cape exacerbates an already challenging situation in terms of hunger, loss of income, unemployment, criminal activity and fear; a peaceful, pragmatic, rational solution is in the best interests of local communities, the Western Cape province and the country as a whole,” said Sablay.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and Western Cape Premier Alan Winde was expected to meet with minibus taxi leaders on Thursday. It was not clear if the taxi bosses would honour the invitation after earlier communicating through their legal representatives that they would not be attending the meeting.
Also revealed on Thursday, Cabinet has directed Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga to ensure that minibus taxis which were operating outside of the laws of the country be taken off the road.
“Members of the SAPS and other law-enforcement agencies have been directed to ensure the violent situation is under control to allow residents safe movement to school, work and their normal daily activities.
“Cabinet was also briefed about the City of Cape Town’s imposing of taxi operating conditions which are at variance with both the National Road Traffic, 1996 (Act 93 of 1996) and the National Land Transport Act, 2009 (Act 5 of 2009), which regulate traffic offences and the applicable penalties, including the impounding of vehicles,” Presidency Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said on Thursday.
She said Cabinet was also urging Santaco to protest peacefully after violent protests that have seen vehicles stoned and at least five people killed.
Meanwhile, Sablay applauded KFC, The Noodle Factory, Wholesum Foods, Woolworths and Sasko for consistently assisting to feed hungry communities.
Gift of the Givers invites individuals, groups, food companies and corporates to participate in hunger alleviation where possible not only in the Western and Eastern Cape but where we are dealing with mass hunger currently, though the challenge is nationwide.
To donate:
Gift of the Givers
Standard Bank
Account number: 052137228
Branch Code 057525
Reference: Hunger
IOL