Operation Hunger – Fighting hunger for 35 years

Operation Hunger is a non-profit organisation that has been going since 1980 and was founded in 1978 by Dr Selma Browde and Dr Nthato Motlana, who saw a need to combat malnutrition in South Africa.

Thanks to backing from the Institute of Race Relations, Operation Hunger was registered as a fundraising organisation in 1980, and it began hosting events to help communities help themselves by implementing a number of sustainable projects.

Operation Hunger focuses on poverty, malnutrition and nutrition relief, but has expanded its activities to include projects such as water harvesting; small garden plots; vegetable, chicken and egg laying production; soup kitchens and basic training in health and life management skills.

On 18 March, the organisation is encouraging South Africans to acknowledge that 24 million fellow South Africans live well below the poverty line of R10 a day. Hunger kills more people than Aids, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Millions of women, men and children die needlessly each year because of chronic, persistent hunger, of which two million are children.

The charity dinner will have Mervyn E King as the keynote speaker. He is best known as chairman of the International Integrated Reporting Council and was the chairman of Operation Hunger. He retained the position for eight years after which he became honorary life president of the organisation.

The charity dinner will take place on 18 March from 6pm to 11pm at the SA National Museum of Military History in Saxonwold.

Tickets are available for R1 000 per individual seat or R8 500 for a table of 10.

A percentage of these contributions will go towards covering the cost of the celebration and the balance for Operation Hunger’s community projects.

Details: www.operationhunger.org; events@operationhunger.org