SPAR ensures children’s village weathers Covid-19 storm

AS the nation enters the second week of lockdown, where businesses have closed and normal life has ceased, the children at Ingane Yami are happy, healthy and well-fed thanks to the generosity of SPAR.

Ingane Yami, based in the Shongweni valley, is a permanent, loving home for orphaned and vulnerable children. The village consists of individual homes and each one houses six children who are overseen by a carefully selected foster mom.

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SPAR has been a major sponsor of the Ingane Yami since the managing director of SPAR KZN, Max Oliva, visited the village in June 2018.

“I felt humbled by the joy of the children and the positive work being done by the foster moms in creating such a loving and caring environment,” said Max. “I was impressed with the sustainability of the model and the fact that this creates a real opportunity to change the course of young, disadvantaged South African lives forever. SPAR’s core values incorporate family, community and the ability to ‘inspire people to do and be more’. Supporting the Ingane Yami Village through food nutrition aligns perfectly with our values!”

In line with the company’s community mindset, Max connected the local SPAR, SUPERSPAR Richdens, with the Village. Each week, the moms of the Village put together their grocery list based on recommended daily dietary requirements set out by a dietitian. Ingane Yami’s Village administrator, Tracy Meeske, then send’s this to the team at SUPERSPAR Richdens, who then neatly packs everything each home needs into their individualised food bin and delivers it to the Village the next day. Despite the chaos that Covid-19 and the nation-wide lock down has caused for grocery stores across the country, the team at SUPERSPAR Richdens have ensured that the children at Ingane Yami remain a priority and will continue to deliver everything that the children need.

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“We want to thank SPAR KZN and SUPERSPAR Richdens for their commitment to come alongside us here at Ingane Yami to see that South Africa’s most vulnerable children have all of their basic needs met, particularly during such unpredictable times,” said the Ingane Yami director, Scott Hamilton.

For more information on Ingane Yami, or how to become involved with the organisation, contact Patricia at tricia@inganeyami.com.

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