Durban – SA Harvest, a non-profit organisation, together with the Solidarity Fund of South Africa, has delivered food to residents of Port Shepstone, Richards Bay and eThekwini and surrounding communities who were victims of the floods.
Together, they delivered 343 000kg of food, enough to sustain 4 764 families for two months, according to SA Harvest.
SA Harvest collects surplus food that would have gone to waste and provides it to beneficiaries who then feed those in need daily.
Each family received 72kg of food, which included a 42kg bag of fresh vegetables with a long shelf life, 5kg of e’Pap and 25kg of dry goods.
This project took place from July until August, following the devastating floods in April which claimed more than 400 lives in KZN.
The region was declared a state of disaster after the storm had subdued and the extent of the damages had revealed itself.
The Solidarity Fund granted R5 million to SA Harvest for the relief project, assisting those in Port Shepstone, Richards Bay and eThekwini.
The R5m came with strings attached, however, as SA Harvest had to provide the fund administrators with detailed monitoring and evaluation on how the money was spent.
“To ensure that we met the expectations of the Solidarity Fund in providing evidence of delivery to targeted beneficiaries, our tech team developed a mobile app that enabled us to record the details of the heads of households to whom the parcels were delivered.
“This technology is a significant benchmark for future monitoring and evaluation of projects involving grant funding, both for SA Harvest and the Solidarity Fund. It allows for a complete traceability of the food, from its point of origin to the recipient. This level of traceability has never been undertaken before,” said Ozzy Nel, COO of SA Harvest and manager of the project.
Wendy Tlou, Solidarity Fund executive head for Humanitarian Support, Behaviour Change and Floods Response, said: “The floods that have affected KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape will inevitably have a long-term, devastating impact on the communities and individuals affected and require urgent and meaningful action.
“The Solidarity Fund shares the anxieties of those affected and selected to work alongside organisations such as SA Harvest who were already providing support services to communities in the province.
“The partnership provides the assurance that the funding allocated in response to the devastation reaches the intended recipients in an impactful and effective manner.”
IOL