Food bonanza for impoverished villagers

The National African Federated Chamber of Business, Commerce and Industry (Nafcoc), Bidvest and the Mahlasedi Foundation are donating thousands of food parcels to underprivileged people in the province.

Close to 5,000 people from Tyutyu, Skobeni, Bonke and Balasi villages outside King William’s Town have benefited from the programme, which started on Wednesday.

Nafcoc general secretary Cwayita Zituta said there was a desperate need to support the poor.

“We have teamed up with Bidvest as the main sponsor as well as the Mahlasedi Foundation.

“We identified these villages because they were badly affected by Covid-19,” Zituta said.

She said every household in these villages had received groceries that would last them up to three months.

“This is phase one. We will be travelling to Port Elizabeth next week.”

Nafcoc Amathole region chair Phelelani Ngcuka said unemployment was a big problem in King William’s Town and those who did have jobs had lost them during the pandemic.

“We had three or four months of Covid-19 where a number of people could not make plans to feed themselves.

“Some lost their jobs.

“In this area there’s no work or factories and people depend on social grants. With this initiative, led by Bidvest, a number of people have benefited,” Ngcuka said.

Jan Pretorius of Mahlasedi said they had been involved in such projects for a number of years.

“We work with our sponsors and support people in identified areas.

“We are doing this in this province, the Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal,” he said.

Beneficiary Phumla Mzayifana said the donation felt like Christmas in September.

“This month the entire village will not have to spend their social grants and that will also be the case for months to come. We are so grateful to receive this from these companies,” Mzayifana said.

There was so much food to collect that some people brought wheelbarrows.  

“This is not an ordinary food donation, this is the real stuff. It has benefited the entire community, not just a few individuals.” — DispatchLIVE