Stop Hunger Now Southern Africa packages 958,000 meals

That's enough food to feed 6,841 children three meals a week for a year!

Graça Machel

Graça Machel, widow of the beloved icon who inspired this day of reaching out to those less fortunate, gave the opening address at the Sandton Convention Centre, where she got stuck in herself with enthusiastic volunteers to package 648,000 of the day's total meals. She told volunteers, "Wherever Madiba is today, you can be sure he is smiling."

Among the thousands of volunteers who pitched in were Madiba's great-grandson Luvuyo Mandela and SA rugby star Pierre Spies, as well as Gert-Johan Coetzee, Joelle Kayembe, Benny Masekwameng, Kerry McGregor, Zuraida Jardine, Louise Carver, Chad Saaiman, Jacques Terreblanche, Bonang Matheba, Tamerin Jardine, Tshepo Mogale and Kuli Roberts.

At Canal Walk Shopping Centre in Cape Town, the target of 160,000 was exceeded and 300,000 meals were packaged, with another 19,000 meals tallied at the East Rand Mall and 18,200 more at Deutsche Bank. Non-profit organisation Stop Hunger Now Southern Africa (SHN SA), whose mission is to get nutritional meals to young children at Early Childhood Development Centres that receive no government funding, was thrilled with the results of Friday's meal-packaging drive. CEO Barry Mey said, "At Sandton alone we packaged double the meals we did at last year's Mandela Day event, so I cannot begin to say how proud I am of everyone who participated. There is no doubt in my mind that Madiba would be proud of our efforts to destroy child hunger in South Africa in our lifetime."

To find out more about getting involved with SHN SA's monthly volunteer meal-packaging events, please email gro.aswonnregnuhpots@wvnaej for costs and booking information, or visit www.stophungernowsa.org.