South African celebrity chef, author and entrepreneur Sibahle Mtongana – simply known as Siba – has added another achievement to her extensive CV. She is also tackling hunger in her role as global impact ambassador for the international organisation Stop Hunger Now.
In October, the host of the Food Network show, Siba’s Table, toured the US to raise awareness of world hunger during the How We Rise tour. She spent three weeks in the country, where her activities included media appearances and presentations at meal packaging events in Raleigh, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington DC.
“As a global impact ambassador for Stop Hunger Now, Siba is paying that kindness forward by encouraging her many followers to get involved with Stop Hunger Now’s efforts to end hunger in our lifetime,” he said. “She is truly a champion.”
Siba was approached to be ambassador for Global Mandela Day last year and through that campaign they asked her to be their global impact ambassador.
They then invited the chef to the US, to be there around 16 October 2016, which is World Food Day, to raise awareness about hunger. It lines up with Stop Hunger Now and the UN’s Sustainable Goals vision to end hunger by 2030.
Rod Brooks, Stop Hunger Now CEO, said that during the campaign in South Africa, Mtongana spoke about how, as a child, she had been fortunate to receive food at school which had been donated by caring individuals.
“My role is to be an advocate for change and raise awareness of the scourge of hunger on behalf of 795-million people who suffer from hunger and malnutrition on a daily basis.”
“We do this through presentations at big corporate organisations, government institutions, educational institutions and faith groups, raising awareness around this astronomic challenge we are facing on a global scale.”
The celebrity chef says that being South African helps to elevate the country’s profile internationally in many ways.
“Being a global ambassador for such a powerful initiative does promote South Africa as I’m always introduced on its global platforms as a South African. During interviews I mention that I was born in Mdantsane township in East London, and there’s always interest to know more. I learnt that knowledge of South Africa and Africa as a whole in many ways is skewed.”
Siba has always used the platforms to talk about all the great and positive things that we have achieved as a nation and areas where we have pioneered, which are not necessarily published across the world. For example, during a live TV interview in New York she spoke about the health implications of sugar and salt.
The chef spoke about how South Africa was currently at war with sugar and how it was the first country [in Africa] to pass legislation to monitor the use of sugar in products, as well as how retailers had been challenged to put health manifestos on their shelves about all these health-threatening ingredients.
They were very impressed by how our countries had pioneered as a country. They were also very inspired by her personal story – about how she had become a global brand yet had grown up in a township. It’s a great South African story that always changes perceptions of people from Africa and, to be specific, South Africa.
It also positions us as global players who are seen as contributors and givers, as well as part of the solution to global conversations and initiatives.
Siba says the organisation, Stop Hunger Now, affect South Africa because they have a local office of Stop Hunger Now for Southern Africa which supports a lot of schools, especially day care centres, that are not funded by the government.
“Did you know that in South Africa, more than three million children go without food daily? That’s a scary number.”
Stop Hunger Now steps in and supports these establishments through food and other items. This allows the schools to spend money on improving their infrastructure instead, so they can stand on their own or be able to qualify for government assistance.
For more information about Stop Hunger Now… click here.