GEORGE NEWS - Across South Africa, non-profit organizations are grappling with funding shortages from the government while the demand to feed vulnerable groups - children, the elderly, and the disabled - continues to rise. 

In response, the Motor Industry Staff Association (MISA) launched its Fight Child Hunger Challenge earlier this year, rallying members, staff, tenants, and stakeholders to collect essential food items. These include tinned foods (like pilchards), peanut butter, fortified maize, white rice, soya mince, speckled beans, and soup mix.

The initiative gained momentum with MISA President Heidi Reid delivering the first donation to the Child and Youth Care Centre in George, a registered place of safety for children aged 2–18 placed there by court order. 

Further boosting the campaign, MISA’s inaugural Women’s Breakfast in George, celebrating women in the retail motor industry during Women’s Month, required attendees to donate one of the listed items as entry. 

“Wow, George, I am super proud of your massive donation. I challenge the ladies in other regions to do better than this,” Reid declared.

Over the next six weeks, MISA will host similar breakfasts in Cape Town, East London, Gqeberha, Klerksdorp, Bloemfontein, Durban, and Johannesburg, with additional handovers planned for non-profits nationwide. 

The urgency of this initiative is underscored by a 2024 Unicef report revealing that 23% of South African children face severe food poverty, consuming fewer than two of the recommended five food groups daily. Unemployment, food insecurity, limited access to services, and poor nutrition knowledge exacerbate the crisis.

Heidi Reid, President of MISA, with Sharon Symons, Head of Division: Child Development at the Child and Youth Care Centre in George.

MISA’s Chief Executive Officer: Operations, Martlé Keyter, highlighted the stark reality: “According to a research report submitted to NEDLAC’s Cost of Living Task Team, 29% of children under five in South Africa are stunted due to malnutrition, while 15% are hungry. 

"The gap between hunger and stunting arises because children are often given non-nutritious foods that merely curb hunger.”

MISA urges everyone to join the Fight Child Hunger Challenge by purchasing the listed items and contacting Sonja Carstens at Sonja.Carstens@ms.org.za to find the nearest collection point. Every small act of generosity can make a big difference in nourishing South Africa’s future.

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