Meals on Wheels SA goes all out for hunger-busting charity drive

23 February 2016 - 15:16 By Times LIVE
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A Northern Cape-based charity organisation is spearheading a hunger cycle tour to raise funds for its projects, which provide thousands of meals to the needy on a daily basis.

The cycle tour will begin in Kimberly, Northern Cape, on 28 February and end in Cape Town on 3 March. Funds raised from the tour will go towards providing meals for the disadvantaged and needy. Meals on Wheels feeds thousands of families every day and conducts feeding schemes in poor schools in the Northern Cape.

 

1. When and where was MOWCS SA established?

MOWCS was established 1964 in East London by an incredible man named Dr Dennis Baird, founder of MOWCS.    

2. What does it stand for?

It stands for Meals on Wheels Community Service South Africa.

3. What does the organisation do?

Meals on Wheels Community Service South Africa is a humanitarian initiative that strives to bring relief to the country’s less fortunate and aged, irrespective of colour, class or culture. As far as possible, help is granted wherever it is needed. MOWCS serves the basic needs of the poorest of the poor, the vulnerable, the disabled and the elderly in society. The poorest of the poor refer to persons with little or no income such as old-age pension, disability pension, child care grants etc. The vulnerable include women with children, child-headed households and orphans.

Target groups are: previously disadvantaged groups, previously underdeveloped areas, targeting the poorest of the poor, the vulnerable and the elderly.

4. What is your mission?

To identify the social, health, family life and welfare needs of the community and to co-ordinate, through our branches and service points, meaningful care, using available resources, motivated by supreme love for God and impartial love for our fellow men – to the ultimate glory of God.

5. What are your challenges?

We are still faced with imbalances of the past – most previously disadvantaged groups do not have access to formal infrastructure and facilities. Rectifying these imbalances is a priority for us. There are 12 million people facing hunger every day. We are currently serving just over a million people per month, so our task has only just begun!

6. What was the purpose of this establishment in 1964?

The purpose at that time was to provide meals for the elderly in the community.

7. How has it evolved since then?

MOWCS has since then, evolved into a national programme, targeting not just the elderly in the community, but also the poorest of the poor and the vulnerable people of South Africa. The service has expanded to deal with poverty in general, and in the case of the younger generation, the idea is to provide them with skills and capacity to empower these individuals to become self-sustainable over a period of six months to a year. For this purpose, we encourage existing Meals on Wheels branches to expand their services to include service centres where the basket of services will slot in.

8. What is the purpose of these service centres and what does the basket of services include?

The purpose of a service centre is to assist elderly persons to remain active and self-supporting within their community for as long as it is physically possible. Note that this is an essential service in the community as the majority of South Africans will never be able to afford accommodation in a frail-care centre. Some of these centers are subsidised by the government only for support services, hence the funding by MOWCS SA for the provision of meals at the centers on daily basis. Service centres for the elderly and multi-purpose service centres provide services between three and five days a week.

Other service-centre activities include the following: 

Daily worship; weekly Bible studies and church services; crafts such as dress making, knitting and sewing, the making and decorating of gift boxes, bags and cards; cake decorating for special occasions; flower arranging; catering for events; home-based care, home visits and assisted living; exercise programmes; health talks; hairdressing; laundry services; and transport services.

9. In which other areas are offices of the organisation?

The following six areas are divisions of MOWCS SA in the nine provinces of South Africa: Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, the Northern Cape, Trans-Orange Conference, Transvaal Conference and the Western Cape.

10. Where does MOWCS's funds and support come from?

MOWCS is a non-profit organisation. Therefore, we rely on donations, sponsors and fundraising.

11. From the 25 service points in the Northern Cape, how many people does MOWCS feed per month?

We are currently feeding more than 100000 people in the Northern Cape per month.

12. How many branches do you have?

We have 140 branches nationwide and more than 400 service points. These branches are delivering and serving more than 13.4 million meals annually.

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