Tshepisong community joins hands to help others

Mandela Day was a momentous occasion for Johannesburg-based non-profit organisation Africa Food For Thought (AFFT), which fed the Tshepisong community in celebration of the day.

The organisation served more than 2 000 bowls of soup to residents in Tshepisong, a township where AFFT has been running a food programme for over 10 years.

AFFT provides Ratabana Creche with the nutritious food needed to serve 80 children two meals and two snacks every day. The creche is one of more than 30 pre-schools that the organisation supplies with fresh ingredients and canned goods every month.

AFFT serves more than 18 000 children every week through their feeding programmes.

The celebration was made possible by the donations of sponsors and the more than 100 volunteers who joined AFFT on the day. Together, these teams prepared soup, buttered bread and served the meal to the community. They also handed out juice, fruit, snacks and nougat.

The teams cooked more than 700 litres of soup and shared 250 loaves of bread with Tshepisong residents. Food was prepared at Ratabana Creche, which generously made part of their premises available for the preparations.

Meals were distributed at a nearby park, where music made the event a festive occasion. Volunteers also planted several trees.

“It was amazing to see volunteers from so many corporates come together and work in unison so that we could bless the community of Tshepisong,” said AFFT operations manager, Kate Jacobs.

“We focus on feeding children, so it was very special to be able to spend the day meeting some of the parents and other adults in the community, and to hear what an impact we have made in their lives.”

The event was a fitting celebration of former president Nelson Mandela’s legacy, according to community members like Thulani Mswane.

“I’m happy to see people coming here to celebrate,” he said. “It’s important because Mandela liberated us to where we are today. Coming together as people of South Africa is how we build the future together.”

The day was also a special occasion for the volunteers.

“Today was a good opportunity for us because there are people struggling in this community and this gives them a chance to have fun,” said Listen Timir, an accounting student who volunteered as part of the University of Johannesburg’s Community Engagement Student Volunteer Champions.

“We also couldn’t have done this without the support of the local community. Ward councillor, Sylvia Monakale, the women of the Community Works Programme, representatives of Johannesburg Parks, and countless others showed up to bring a real community spirit to today’s proceedings. And, of course, the amazing team at Ratabana Creche, led by Grace Mabusela, really went out of their way to make everyone feel welcome.”

To help support communities in need, visit https://www.afft.org.za or phone 011 472 5727. You can also follow AFFT on Facebook.