Give a person a fish, and they will eat for a day. Teach a person how to fish, and you feed them for a lifetime.
Johannesburg, South Africa (01 September 2021) – There have been many dark moments in the past 18 months but hearing about people whose lives have been changed by a simple food voucher (made possible through the support of South Africans) brings light back into our world again. It gives us the boost we need to focus on the good and keep going.
Sarah Jane Brink, CEO of Siyabonga Africa, shared a story about Pearl, a 26-year-old mother of a 4-year-old son, who is one of these people, with an incredibly inspirational story.
Pearl lives with her mom and two brothers (13 and 18 years old). At the moment, she is unemployed. Her mom sells achaar to earn a little money, but it’s nowhere near enough to keep the family going.
Pearl came across Siyabonga Africa on Facebook and decided to apply for a food voucher because her family was desperate for food. The food voucher duly arrived, and Pearl bought essential groceries for the family. But she also added spinach and onion seeds to her basket so that she could start her very own vegetable garden – an idea she got from Siyabonga Africa.
“I never thought that I could start something so amazing,” she says. Seeing the first little shoots push up through the soil, and grow day by day into healthy vegetables, was so exciting.
“We feed on the garden,” she says, “At the moment, we are unable to sell or share with neighbours because the veggie garden is still small. But in future, we can sell and even share with others.”
Thanks to our food voucher programme – and the special people who support us – a desperate family is no longer going hungry. And, they have learnt the skills to ensure they won’t go hungry again.
In the past year, the programme has reached almost 2,000 homes like Pearl’s. Every month, over 400 homes (across all 9 provinces) receive the food they need to survive. This is literally changing lives. If you would like to contribute towards a family in dire need, please click here to donate a food voucher.
As we approach Spring, a season filled with the promise of renewed life, warmth and hope, we hope that more people will learn from the lessons we teach here. And, like Pearl, take the initiative to improve their way of life. It fills them with hope, pride and a sense of worth … something that cannot be bought.
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Thank you, South Africa, for helping people like Pearl and thank you Siyabonga Africa for making it possible.
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