Thousands joined the looting of businesses and big and small were decimated. However, millions did not participate and are now in dire straits facing joblessness and food shortages as a direct result of the looting.

Whole households, some with small children are now fighting for survival. Now is the time to fight back, and a small group of people started an initiative to supply bread and maize meal to as many hungry citizens as possible, especially the hardest hit communities to help alleviate starvation in the short term, until the dust settles, and a sense of normality returns to the Vaal Triangle.

The Living Bread Initiative is the brainchild of a local resident Tinus Potgieter. He formed an a-political group of volunteers to facilitate and control the process of securing donations of bread and maize meal and to distribute the food donations to identified and targeted areas in crises.

The aim is to involve organized business and the public of the Vaal Triangle for sponsorship/funding. A total of 5500 loafs of bread has already been distributed from 26 to 30 July, feeding approximately 22 000 hungry mouths.

During the distribution it became abundantly clear, just how desperate the state of some of our households are. The appreciation for a loaf of bread by the residents is amazing.

The project can be summarised as follows:

• Purpose – Short-term relief through means of appeal for bread donations to hardest hit communities from recent civil unrest and protest action.
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• Duration – Month of August
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• Structure – Community driven Apolitical and not a charity. Charities are long-term, while the essence of this initiative is short-term relief and relies on the direct involvement of individuals and businesses in our community
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• Goals – To deliver 1 000 bread loafs per day, during August. We need R10000-00 per day to sustain the feed scheme until end of August. Please, help with this!
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• Contributions – Cash donations into Kompas Gemeente NPO registered bank account (preferred option for businesses) or donation of physical bread and maize to collection points clearly marked at participating supermarkets in Vanderbijlpark.
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• Feedback –Constant feedback on the status of the project will be supplied via social media groups, local radio stations and local printed media.

The organisers would not have been able to launch the project without the support of several local businesses including: 

• Pick n Pay SE2 & SE8  – Bread Baking
• Riverview Spar  – Bread baking
• Willies Bakery  – Bread Baking
• Stevenson Spar – Bread baking
• AR Controls – Sponsoring of 10 000 loafs of bread

• Contact – Tinus Potgieter can be contacted via email (tinuspotgieter127@yahoo.com)  or WhatsApp on cell number 076 103 7616
• Bank Details – Kompas Gemeente, FNB NPO Cheque account, account number 62760432428, branch code 250 655, Ref.: LIVING BREAD