Thousands of impoverished families will not go hungry this festive season

Thousands of families living in impoverished rural areas across South Africa will receive a substantial food hamper this festive season, as part of Mastercard’s global100 Million Meals initiative, which aims to end poverty through eliminating hunger.

As part of the initiative, Mastercard has partnered with the Gift of the Givers Foundation – Africa’s largest disaster response non-government organisation – to distribute 800,000 meals in December 2017 to impoverished families living in Limpopo, Northern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, North West and Gauteng. The largest beneficiary group for the hampers will be women with children, who are among those most impacted by poverty in South Africa.

The meal hampers contain enough food to provide a family of six with two meals a day for a month. Food items have been carefully selected to provide a balance of protein and carbohydrates, with each hamper containing rice, maize, beans, soy mince, peanut butter, sugar, tinned fish, oil, porridge, soup and other staples.

“Gift of the Givers has identified areas in South Africa that are affected by severe poverty and hunger, with a focus on the often-neglected deep rural areas within each province. We then work with the local tribal authorities or community leaders, who provide us with a list of the most deserving beneficiaries,” says Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, Founder, Director and Chairman of Gift of the Givers.

The latest Poverty Trends in South Africa report from Statistics SA found that poverty is on the increase in the country, with 30.4 million South Africans, or 55.5 percent of the population, living in poverty.

“This statistic suggests that more children will be affected by hunger, leading to malnourishment as well as stunted growth and intellectual development,” Sooliman says.  “Through our partnership with Mastercard, we are hoping to change this picture by feeding hundreds of children – many of whom are unable to reach their full potential due to extreme hunger.”

Get involved

To help provide meals to even more families, South Africans can make a donation to the Gift of the Givers Foundation, using their mobile phones via Masterpass, the digital payment service from Mastercard.

Each food parcel costs R700, equating to just R2 a meal. The total includes costs associated with packing and transporting the hampers to needy communities, which are also given a hot meal on the day of the distributions.

“We are excited to partner with the Gift of the Givers Foundation to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty across South Africa. With the help of ordinary South Africans, we can impact many more families, during a time of year characterised by hearty meals, thanksgiving and kindness,”

says Aleksandra Babic, Director of Marketing and Communications, Africa at Mastercard.

With the mission of creating a world beyond cash and a world beyond hunger, 100 Million Meals is Mastercard’s commitment to help reverse the spiral of poverty – through eliminating hunger, driving inclusion and the enablement and empowerment of those in need. Making giving part of everyday life, Mastercard and its partners have helped raise funds to provide over 17 million meals to schoolchildren around the world.

Mastercard is running this initiative under the banner of the Priceless Causes donation platform, a cause marketing programme that makes it easy for Mastercard cardholders to help causes important to them through everyday spending.

Donate to add another plate to this Priceless Cause:

• Download and install the free Masterpass app on your mobile device from your app store.
• Register on the app and load your bank card details into the digital wallet, noting that your details are secure and won’t be shared with anyone.
• Using your Masterpass app, scan the QR code at this website: giftofthegivers.org
• Enter in the amount you would like to donate
• Authenticate the transaction with your unique bank PIN or CVV/CVC code