More than 1,109 Liberty employees, in partnership with NPO Rise Against Hunger, teamed up to pack 255,304 meals as part of their 67-minute pledge for Nelson Mandela Day. Employees from the insurer’s Braamfontein, Cape Town, and Durban offices participated in the initiative.
The food parcels are being distributed across the country to early childhood development centres in need of assistance and will feed 1,110 children five meals a week for an entire year. This achievement significantly surpasses last year’s effort of 190,080 meals packed, demonstrating Liberty's ongoing commitment to combating hunger and supporting education.
According to research by Rise Against Hunger, food security is a major issue not only in South Africa but across the African continent.
An estimated 3.1 million children face chronic hunger in South Africa, with small children at pre-school level being some of the most affected and vulnerable groups. Through the eight-year partnership with Liberty, 1,576,468 meals have been packed, feeding more than 5,895 children.
“This initiative is part of our commitment to being in it with South Africans in their times of need. No child should go to bed with an empty stomach, and our partnership with Rise Against Hunger aims to eradicate this, one meal pack at a time,” said Nomaxabiso Matjila, Liberty’s lead specialist for corporate citizenship.
Liberty’s partnership with Rise Against Hunger is one of its many initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable development within local communities.
