Officials from the Gauteng Department of Social Development took representatives of the Solidarity Fund along with them as they were distributing food parcels to the needy families in Alexandra, North of Johannesburg last week.
This visit follows an earlier meeting where officials from the department in the province and national discussed possible partnership in the wake of recent looting and burning of properties which led to communities unable get food basics in their hood.
The team visited 44- year – old Beauty Kutama who received a food hamper, vegetables, and household supplies after being profiled by the officials from the department.
In 2014, Kutama lost the father of her children and this year again her son was murdered. She is currently unemployed and living with her unemployed son, aged 25, 16-year-old daughter who is still at school and her niece all of them depend on her.
During these volatile economic times, Kutama expressed how she is constantly faced with the challenge of making ends meet which consequently, results in the entire family sleeping on empty stomachs.
The Social Worker assigned to her case explained how they also work closely with community leaders to identify the most vulnerable households in communities living below the poverty threshold.
"The distribution of these food parcels across the Gauteng Province has the maximum capacity of reaching 7500 collectively, depending on the demand each district presents", said Mbali Ndlovu, from the Directorate Sustainable Livelihood.
Kutama further attested that after the tragic loss of her son, a community leader referred her to the social worker from the Department of Social Development, who paid her a visit and subsequently administered her case into the food relief initiative.
Since then, Kutama claims she has been a beneficiary of such services and she has since expressed her gratitude to the department and is humbly looking forward to it as it improves her quality of life, thus alleviating hunger and poverty.
The Solidarity Fund was established in response to South Africa's Covid 19 pandemic. The fund collaborates closely with both the government and private sector but is independent of both. It serves as a forum for members of the public, civic society, the government sector, and the corporate sector to contribute to a unified effort to support diverse empowerment activities.