Night 4 of the Second Cycle

Last night the team resumed with food parcel deliveries. It was tough going, the tracks were very muddy and wet after all the rain we have had and temperatures have dropped markedly. We set out at midnight, only finishing at 03:00 but did manage to deliver 269 parcels.

The area we serviced was, as you can see from the photos I’ve attached, perhaps the poorest in Ekuphumleni. There are no services and the lack of infrastructure and lighting makes this a difficult area to service. Compounded by a vey dark, wet and cold evening, the team showed great tenacity and pushed through to drop 3.2 tons of food.

Tonight will be the last drop of the current cycle. 

Night 5 of the Second Cycle

Our final night of deliveries in this cycle was another fairly tough one and took 3 hours with the team only heading home at 03h00. The section of Ekuphumleni that we serviced is the poorest area and with a lack of lighting, no roads or services infrastructure, conditions were difficult. Massive recognition must be given to our team of runners who have managed to deliver of 1200 parcels, weighing 15 tons, over this week. There were 147 families who did not receive a parcel last night but these will be delivered on Monday. 

Summary

The increase in the number of parcels delivered in this cycle is due to the fact that some folk have returned to Ekuphumleni and that residents are now aware of the project and are less fearful of opening their doors to our runners. At the end of cycle 2, KOSRA would have provided 2347 food parcels in total.

Cycle 2

141 plus an additional 1059 parcels delivered
147 short and to be delivered on Monday

The food relief project has only been made possible through the generosity of our community and the kind donations of Kenton residents.

We are aware that the government has made available funding with which the local authorities will be allocating food vouchers to residents. The value of this support is not fully understood but we are led to believe that the amount available will not be sufficient to feed our region adequately but we shall continue to monitor this at a local level.

We have been collaborating with other food relief initiatives all the way from the Kat River to Alexandria. We are harnessing the expertise of our local farming communities who have been extremely supportive of the food relief initiatives. Together we are planning to ensure that all food resources available in this region will be used and distributed in an organised and well planned manner and that through a common purpose, those in need will be taken care of.

Thank you for your continued support. Of particular mention is First Choice Dairies who have donated 5000 litres of long life milk to our region. Craig Theunissen and his team at SPAR, Johan and Ricardo in Kenton, have gone above and beyond in their service to the community and without the logistical backbone they have provided we would not have been able to undertake this  project. While these companies have made a major contribution, we must acknowledge all the sponsors who have supported the project whether with cash donations, food contributions or simply words of encouragement. Please continue to support us.