Insights

How a small food donation can save people and wildlife in Limpopo

by | Apr 30, 2020 | Advisory Services

Nourish, a non-profit on the outskirts of the Kruger Park, connects communities to conservation through education, agriculture and tourism. But now, lockdown-induced hunger has the potential to undo much of their good work in an instant. Your food donation can stop families from having to resort to poaching.

In times like these it’s only natural to worry about yourself and your family first – and rightly so. But living in such an unequal country also means that we should do whatever we can to help those less fortunate than ourselves. At least we think it does.

That said, the simple act of choosing who to give to can be a challenge. Which is why we thought we’d tell you about a really worthy cause that we’ve been giving pro bono assistance to for years. We think you’ll find it hard to say no to a project that’s making a real difference to the people (and animals!) of one of South Africa’s most special places, the Kruger Park.

WHAT NOURISH NORMALLY DOES

Established in 2011, Nourish is a charity located on the Orpen Road near the Kruger Park. Inspired by a heartfelt belief that “improving local communities is an investment in our collective future,” Nourish fights poaching by fighting poverty and building resilient communities.

Over the years the charity has grown to include an eco village, sustainable farm & garden, feeding scheme, creche & aftercare program and environmental education curriculum which it uses to:

  • Educate children and their families about nutrition, sustainability and the vital role of the environment in their lives
  • Build capacity in environmental entrepreneurship
  • Create platforms which help people and businesses to make transparent and sustainable community upliftment happen
  • Promote social responsibility among all members of the community

WHAT NOURISH IS DOING DURING LOCKDOWN

Lockdown has brought an abrupt halt to all of Nourish’s regular activities – most notably its creche, feeding scheme & aftercare program which normally provide healthy meals to over 100 kids every day.

Losing out on the one meal they could count on might well have led families to resort to poaching simply to put food on the table. But instead Nourish quickly made a plan to supply food and hygiene parcels to over 100 children. Parcels include staples like pap, soya mince and beans as well as soap, sanitisers and face masks (these are made by women from the community who also receive a R35 cash injection for each mask).

Nourish are now stepping up their response to the Covid-induced food crisis to include the families of these children, who – due to the ravages of HIV and other social ills – often live with grandparents or aunts and uncles. The charity is able to feed a family of 4 to 5 for around R140/week (chew on that the next time you open your well-stocked fridge) to add up to a weekly bill of slightly under R12,000 for a community of 420 people.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP

Through our involvement with the Kirsty Watts Foundation, Sentinel has given our time and money to this extremely worthy cause over the years. Now, for the first time, we’re encouraging anyone who’s ever been to the bush (I think that’s all of us) to do the same. We like to think of it as our way of keeping the people and animals of Kruger going until we’re able to visit them again.

Every R140 you donate will enable Nourish to feed one more family for one more week by giving them the means to purchase supplies, keep their trucks on the road and tend their veggie gardens. You can also sponsor masks at R35 each. (And yes, before you ask, all donations are tax deductible.)

Donations can be made via bank transfer or Paypal as follows:

Nourish NPO
First National Bank
Account 62321718324
Branch 270652 or 250655 for EFTs
SWIFT/BIC: FIRNZAJJXXX

Paypal: nourish.org.za@gmail.com