Durban - With KwaZulu-Natal being one of the hardest hit province's by Covid-19, former DA KZN leader and now member of the ANC Sizwe Mchunu has used his foundation to help poor families in parts of the KZN Midlands to put food on their tables.
Using his Sizwe Mchunu Legacy Foundation the former member of the provincial legislature in KwaZulu-Natal has been able to provide food parcels for poor and needy communities in the province's Midlands area, including in Richmond, uMngeni and Msunduzi Municipalities.
He has also called on members of society to continue helping with food parcels and other supplies that could help destitute families survive through the Covid-19 crisis.
Mchunu said that the plight of poor families, some of which were child headed, during the coronavirus necessitated lockdown had forced many destitute people to ignore the call for people to stay at home and were roaming the streets as they desperately searched for food to feed their families.
"Most traumatising is to hear of the number of children wandering in the streets since they have absolutely nothing to do at home. While this could be perceived as sheer ignorance, I choose to look beyond the obvious and that is the role played by poverty and unemployment in this regard.
"This, in some isolated incidents, is a cry for help from hunger and a hunt for food. In the main children of these communities get their main meal of the day from their respective schools, now with the lockdown and schools having closed these kids really battle to stay at home as their hunger is hard felt when they're locked in doors," said Mchunu.
He added that this left children from destitute families facing the risk of being infected with the deadly virus as their parents were often in the streets in the hunt for food.
"In the midst of this saga there are desperate and needy child headed families that are battling to feed themselves. Today I stand to volunteer myself to spread the message of these vulnerable members of our society. So I humbly urge any of you that are able to help to make any form of donation be it in the form of food, sanitisers, any relevant medical supply or even clothing to please help feed the needy and stop the spread of the coronavirus," Mchunu said.