Members and friends will be aware of the Charities we support with our annual Plant Sale & Coffee Morning each April - currently Co Wexford Hospice Home Care and a small African Charity - Breadline Africa.
Information about Hospice is readily available but Breadline Africa less so. We have all  suffered to greater or lesser extent with the consequences of the Corvid. This is a report from friends in Breadline Africa.....

The first real cold front hit Cape Town this last week bringing strong winds and plenty of rain. While many welcome the rain, there are those in informal settlements who have no heating, face flooding and are trying to stave off hunger.  
 
A few days ago I received a message from Asanda who runs one of the feeding projects in an informal settlement in Macassar Village. The wood was wet and cooking on an open fire was impossible.  Asanda Blou is 25 and father of two year old twins.  Long before the lockdown, Asanda used his wages to buy loaves of bread which he cut in half and handed out to the people in his community.  When the lockdown started, just like many people Asanda was laid off but this did not stop him from feeding his community.  Three times a week he cooks food on an open fire at the back of his shack serving the children first, then the elderly and if anything is left, the rest of the community.  Asanda had only a 15 litre pot which served 80 small portions. We used your donations to buy him a bigger pot and dried ingredients and vegetables. During the downpours, he was unable to light the wood but he didn't give up. He borrowed an old gas stove and ensured that those in the community could still receive a hot meal.
 
His determination and depth of caring is what makes him stand out. He is so humble too. As desperate as he is to provide for his own family each day he has the same desire to help his community.  When I spoke to Asanda, he told me how far people come to get a bowl of food and one thing that stuck with me was, that even those living in the low cost houses also join the feeding line. He said “We are all in the same boat — unemployed and nothing to eat”
 
His words really struck home. He wasn't concerned about what they had but what they didn't have like a warm bowl of food. We were so inspired by Asanda, that with your help, we bought him a gas stove and large gas cylinder which will help him cook during the long winter months.