Mediclinic Sandton Hospital packs 20 000 nutritious meals for for Rise Against Hunger
Mediclinic Sandton staff and local volunteers united on November 21 to pack 20 000 meals for Rise Against Hunger, supporting children.
Mediclinic Sandton Hospital staff members joined forces with local volunteers on November 21 to pack an impressive 20 000 meals for Rise Against Hunger.
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The donation, made possible by Mediclinic Sandton, is set to provide nutritious meals to children aged one to six years old at Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres in the Gauteng region.
Rise Against Hunger national events manager Anneke Senekal expressed gratitude for the support. “We are grateful to everyone who came and helped us pack these meals, and we thank Mediclinic Sandton for their generous donation.
“The packed meals will primarily benefit around 76 children, allowing them to receive five meals a week for an entire year, effectively supporting four ECDs in need,” Senekal said.
Rise Against Hunger focuses on unregistered ECDs that do not receive financial support from the Department of Social Development.
Senekal said with every meal provided, ECDs can redirect the funds they would have spent on food toward enriching their educational environments, whether by purchasing new toys or funding teacher training.
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“We monitor them [ECDs], we do assessments to see what they want to achieve. Once they get to the stage of becoming registered and receiving a grant, we transition to support another ECD in need.”
The hospital’s patient experience manager Ansju Blackbeard shared her passion for early childhood development. “I’ve worked for the hospital for 12 years, and early childhood is very close to our hearts.
“Our hospital has a very strong pediatric unit, so when it comes to children, we know that making a difference in the community starts there,” Blackbeard said.
She underscored the collaborative spirit of the event. “Today, we’ve got community people and the hospital staff packing meals for Rise Against Hunger with joy.
“For us, this is a wonderful way to not just make a difference but to uplift each other, where everyone is motivated and thinking, wow, we are going to touch children’s lives.”
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