Durban - Over the past six days, Meals On Wheels Community Services has delivered more than 40 000 meals to KwaZulu-Natal flood victims. The organisation has been able to deliver hot meals, blankets, clothes and clean water to the worst affected areas.
Resources and support from branches in other provinces have been deployed to eThekwini to meet the needs of the most vulnerable.
CEO Nelisa Mabenge said: “We would like to thank our partners for their continued support through this difficult week. They have enabled us to respond to this disaster through their donations: Pick n Pay, McCain, Pepsico, OS Holdings, Barcadi, Food Lover’s Market – your contributions have allowed us to reach more people than we would have on our own.“
With many displaced communities unable to go to Meals on Wheels centres, the organisation has been delivering to camps housing the displaced residents.
Meals on Wheels Community Services is committed to poverty and unemployment alleviation. It aims to ensure people not only get a hot meal regularly, but are eventually able to feed themselves. Besides providing meals, the organisation has a skills development training programme. Nationally, it has 181 branches and more than 280 delivery vehicles. It provides 2.4 million meals a month and 31 million meals a year.
Mabenge said the organisation was committed to providing meals for as long as was necessary, and was inviting more organisations to donate towards this cause.
Send your donation to Meals on Wheels Community Services SA, Absa Bank, Account No 4076236605, or visit www.mow.org.za, or SMS the word MEAL to 39055 (Each SMS is billed at R15, the cost of one meal – in South Africa only).
In addition, The Netcare Group has launched a major community relief project for KZN.
Members of the public can donate blankets, tinned and other non-perishable foods, bottled water, sanitary products, nappies and warm clothing to help alleviate some of the immediate physical hardships people are facing. These items can be dropped off at any Netcare hospital, Netcare 911 base, Netcare Medicross, Netcare Prime Cure, or Netcare Akeso facility.
General manager of emergency, trauma, transplant and CSI at Netcare, Mande Toubkin, said: “Let us work together in support of the people of KZN. We at the Netcare Foundation have set the ball rolling with a donation of 400 blankets; however the need in KZN is considerable, and we must move fast to get help to those in need.”
The Independent on Saturday