Children from impoverished families in rural communities rely on schools and feeding schemes to get a warm healthy meal daily. Now during the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa, with schools shut - many children are at home with even less access to food security. This makes them even more vulnerable. Nourish provided food for over 100 children on a daily basis, and it is our goal to keep providing these children and their families with food and hygiene parcels during this time; to support health.
The challenges poor families will face during this Pandemic & the state of disaster are many. With already low incomes, being able to 'stock up' or 'self-isolate' is not possible for families who live on the bread line. In addition travelling in overcrowded vehicles to buy food puts even more risk into the lives of children living with grannies & extended families. Our weekly delivered food parcels will reduce the need to travel on taxis to the shops, & will provide food security for vulnerable.
By bringing food to the home of our children in the village we reduce the risk of travelling, and congregating at a feeding program where Covid-19 could be spread. We provide poor families with the food for their children that they used to receive during normal times, and support them in a small way to become more resilient by having food to stay healthy and soap to try to stay hygienic. This helps with the government imposed restrictions and the loss of jobs as we provide food security and hope
The long term impact will be that we help the village of Sigagule & the 100 children ( & their extended families which are over 350 people) to stay fed & hopefully healthy during this time by trying to mitigate risk & provide food security & support. Then when schools open these children can come back to our creche & aftercare program to be supported to continue their educational development. Right now, our goal is to help them survive what is a devastating time to everyone, especially the poor.
