Gift of the Givers: Relief Aid

VERDWAAL RE-VISITED: NEW KITCHEN AND PLAQUE FOR THE HUNGRY FOUR WHO PERISHED

Greetings of Peace

Dear Recipients

Verdwaal is synonymous with "death from hunger" in a country that is the economic powerhouse of the African continent. It was a tragic incident in November last year in Itsoseng, Verdwaal, North-West Province when four young children, walking several km in search of their mother and food, died of starvation. Gift of the Givers teams were dispatched to the area and found extensive hunger among thousands of people in the rural areas of this region. Food parcels and feeding was instituted immediately; thousands were assisted; Home Affairs was called in to issue ID documents to many who were not registered and could not access social grants but most people could not afford the fee to pay for these ID books.

In honour of those beloved children who perished from hunger, Gift of the Givers built a special kitchen in Motlhatswa Primary School (the school they attended) dedicated to their memory and have erected a plaque for all to remember that no one in South Africa, a resource rich country, should die from hunger again. Establishing the kitchen has cost R500 000; added to the food distributed intermittently over the last few months, Verdwaal has already cost more than R2.2 million in delivering assistance to the hungry in this area. In the interim the local councillor who went out of his way to assist us in that initial tragic phase has also passed on. In recognition of his dedicated service his name will also be etched in this plaque.

The kitchen officially opens tomorrow, 21 September 2012, at 13h30, where the plaque will be unveiled. As part of the opening ceremony 3000 people, including the learners and parents will be fed a hot, nutritious meal, a 1000 sweet packs will be distributed and the kitchen will be stocked up with supplies to continue the feeding.

Please see link for details on this project.
http://www.giftofthegivers.org/verdwaal-starvation-crisis/index.php

For more information contact Allauddin Sayed cell: 083 667 7179 or Emily Thomas cell: 083 652 0315 or call toll-free: 0800 786 777.

Imtiaz Sooliman
Gift of the Givers

NB. Gift of the Givers is involved in large scale food parcel distribution and feeding in South Africa, running into millions of rands, given the large scale poverty, unemployment and hunger in our country. Cash and non-perishable food items are always welcome as the demands on our resources are huge.