Youth Day commemorates an important day (16 June 1976) in South Africa, where the brave collective action of students shaped the way people around the world viewed South Africa. This was the start of the uprising against the unjust and unfair government regime where the action of the youth ultimately led to a better future for South Africa.
“While we remember the youth that had the courage to stand up against an unfair system and the struggles they endured, we also want to use Youth Day as a reminder to everyone that the youth of today are dealing with a different struggle altogether, and that is hunger,” says Ghairunisa Johnstone-Cassiem, director of Mustadafin. “Dealing with hunger and malnutrition will severely impede a child’s development, school performance, and future. This is a struggle that approximately 600 000 children experience every day.”
“For us, hunger is one of the biggest and most challenging social issues that we deal with on a daily basis. Hunger makes it more challenging for children to focus on schoolwork and can influence the dropout rate in many communities,” says Johnstone-Cassiem. “It is unacceptable and disheartening when a parent must choose which child may eat today because there simply is not enough food to feed each child.”
During the month of May 2022, through various school feeding programmes, Mustadafin provided 15 000 meals to children in need at five schools. Their team worked tirelessly in communities within the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and as far as Zimbabwe to feed as many people in need of a nutritional meal as possible.
Mustadafin’s approach to tackling hunger is primarily focused on reaching out to impoverished schools to address classroom hunger. This initiative helps enrich children with nutritional meals to not only reduce malnutrition in children but also improve their concentration in class
“There Foundation appeals to the general public, institutions, and businesses of all kinds, to support an organisation like Mustadafin, that works towards poverty alleviation and food distribution programmes in communities,” says Johnstone-Cassiem. “We need to treat hunger as an urgent social issue that affects the future of the entire country In 1976, youth played a courageous role to influence the future of South Africa. The youth of today are our future leaders and influencers of our country, however, they struggle to reach their full potential when they have to worry about where their next meal comes from.”
For the next three months, Mustadafin will be doing a food drive in rural areas and schools. With unemployment statistics of up to 90% in some areas, people are dependent on feeding schemes and organisations such as Mustadafin for a meal.
“We need individuals and businesses to donate as many essential food items as possible, especially during these cold winter months where at least one warm meal a day can make a huge difference in someone’s life,” says Johnstone-Cassiem. “Let us always remember the courageous youth of 1976 by making a difference in the lives of the current youth and future leaders of South Africa.”
