Barloworld, a distributor of leading global brands, partnered with Machel and global non-profit organisation, Stop Hunger Now, to mark this milestone and by helping to eradicate hunger.
Machel's birthday coincided with World Food Day - an annual event founded by the United Nations to highlight issues of food security and global hunger - inspiring her to celebrate the occasion by leading a massive meal packing initiative in aid of Zizile Institute for Child Development in Mozambique.
The event is one of many activities to mark World Hunger Action Month and saw more than 70,000 meals packed for beneficiaries in Mozambique. In South Africa, Barloworld will lead a challenge to pack 100,000 meals on 23 October.
Machel is Stop Hunger Now Southern Africa's Chief Patron and was supported by the Church of the Latter Day Saints who provided the venue and volunteers for the meal packing event.
Approximately 870 million people go to bed hungry every day. That is one out of every eight people on the planet, making hunger number one on the list of the world's top ten health risks.
"Knowing this, I felt I needed to become part of a movement to end hunger. I could no longer ignore the fact that so many people, including children, go to bed at night plagued by chronic hunger," Machel said. "Hunger kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Even worse, it is the single biggest solvable problem facing the world today."
Stop Hunger Now Southern Africa plays a pivotal role in ensuring that children are educated and fed by running meal packing drives across Southern Africa. The Mozambican effort is particularly important as it exemplifies Stop Hunger Now's approach to partnership in finding a holistic solution to hunger and education.
Stop Hunger Now partnered with Barloworld to roll out two events to mark World Hunger Action Month and pack a combined total of 170,000 meals. Barloworld led a successful meal packing initiative for Mandela Day earlier this year, and the October events strengthen relations with Stop Hunger Now.
"Barloworld is committed to making a difference wherever we have a presence and we want to contribute positively to society," said Sibani Mngomezulu, Barloworld group executive of Human Resources, Strategy and Sustainability.
"We have a presence in Mozambique through our equipment and automotive businesses and are honoured to have the opportunity to not only participate in the celebration of Graça Machel's 70th birthday, but to also be part of the drive to eradicate hunger and provide nutrition to children."
Over 325 boxes containing more than 70,000 meals were packed in Mozambique. Of these, 125 will go to Machel's beneficiary organisation Zizile, and the remaining 200 will be donated to two causes identified by Barloworld Mozambique's equipment and automotive divisions.
