The real hero

Sthe runs iziMbali Zesizwe out of her home in Imbali

I want to express my gratitude to all of those who supported us in this year's challenge. If you had a chance to read my last entry about the food we handed out in Cape Town, I want you to know about the real hero who is the beneficiary of the funds we raised this past week: Sithembile (Sthe) Ndlovu, the founder and Director of iziMbali Zesizwe (Flowers of the Nation) feeding programme.

View of a street in Imbali, Pietermaritzburg

Although Miri and I exited our comfort zone to live below the line, our gesture was but a drop in the bucket compared to what Sithembile Ndlovu and her daughters do for the people of Imbali on a regular basis. As a South African who was herself living below the line, Sthe created iziMbali Zesizwe to help the vulnerable members of her community the best she could. Sthe convinced the ward counselor in her area to let her use a litter strewn public space next to the school to develop a community garden where vegetables are grown and harvested for community meals and to sell at a low cost to locals to support the purchase of other ingredients. She arranged for a helpful neighbor to regularly collect bread and vegetables that are near expiry from shops in Pietermaritzburg to provide free to impoverished families in her community. She also turns her kitchen into a small scale catering operation multiple times per week with the help of local friends and volunteers who prepare healthy meals to hand out to vulnerable children in the neighborhood. 

The community garden developed for the feeding programme

While Miri and I endeavored to offer a once-off meal to those in our surrounding neighborhoods, Ma Sthe has worked hard over the past 10 years to raise an NGO from the ground that provides hundreds of meals and groceries to members of her community each week. We commend her for her efforts, and thank those of you who were able to contribute to her good works.

We hope you join our journey next time we live below the line.

Celebrating food

Probably the best part of our experience below the line was the experience of handing out food to people around our neighborhood at the conclusion of our challenge - a new tradition we added this year. Being able to give people a whole container of freshly prepared food that was made especially for them brought smiles to many faces. It wasn't just the feeling of helping, but the knowledge of knowing how good something tastes when you have been without it for some time. 

Miri and I decided to prepare a tray that went beyond the basics of what people might be able to access through their regular networks. We cooked up brown rice with lentils to go with a homemade beef and potato curry, along with a healthy portion of papaya topped off with a chocolate covered biscuit; all things we couldn't afford on our R10 a day diet. 

Miri and I prepare the papayas for the food packets                                                

While we mostly received warm responses, there were also heart wrenching moments, like the elderly gentlemen who appeared to have Parkinson's. He was alone on a side street with a jacket but no shirt. He looked incredibly wasted and could barely make his way to us on his own. Miri and I looked at each other is stunned silence after meeting him. Later she said thoughtfully, "Imagine if that were your father or your grandfather out there alone on the street." 

The contents of the 40 meals we hand delivered to
people on the streets of Cape Town

At another moment we handed out food to some street hawkers and a large group came and rushed the car in fear that we wouldn't have enough for all of them. Although we were glad to help, it was a bit overwhelming, and some of the people complained that clothes we handed out in a bag to the group did not get properly distributed.

At another corner, a man selling iron art works stopped rolling a joint so he could come get some food, while at another corner a weathered woman asked with delight if it was Mother's Day when we handed her a scarf and some food. We went through so many emotions as we encountered people in in a variety of difficult circumstances. It was rewarding and heart-wrenching at the same time. 

The final product that we delivered to 40 less fortunate people in the
southern suburbs of Cape Town last Sunday

Overall, Miri and I were very happy with the end result, and have agreed to do it again for our 67 minutes of community service on July 18 to commemorate the 67 years of Nelson Mandela's service. We hope friends in Cape Town will join us to do the same. We also want to take up living below the line for a longer period, perhaps two weeks, or with more frequency, to test our own resolve and make sure we hold near the lessons that we rediscover each time.

Miri's reflections on the challenge

My thoughts on day 5:

Gosh I'm craving some chocolate brownies, oh and some egg fried rice. This experience has been very, very challenging. Especially going to a Justin Bieber concert with not much energy to be jumping and dancing, but it is okay.

My reflections after the challenge:

It just really teaches you to actually look around and appreciate what you have now. The first day was okay, I’m never a big fan of having breakfast in the mornings anyway.  So that was kind of easy, but the hard part hit me bad. I'm so dependent on always coming home and snacking on everything I can find. Whereas during the challenge, at lunch breaks I would be so thankful for the apple I got everyday. It definitely made my day.

Over all I’ve learnt a lot through out this experience. I think this time around I’ve gained more of a perspective than the previous years. Its probably that I was still a bit young, and never actually looked at it the way I do after doing it recently for the second time. Yea no I have really grown over the past two years. I look at it this way, If I was a domestic worker and I get paid, say round about R100 which is $10. Now with that $10 I probably have to commute back and forth to work. You not only have to think about yourself, but also your kids, and the lunches for school. Probably dinner too, and truth is that’s what I grew up like with. My mum got paid R85 in Canadian dollars that’s about $8 if she was lucky.

Some days she could not even afford a taxi both ways to work, or even my transport money which was $1.99, so she walked 10km in the morning to get to work. I walked 5km to school. The fact that I got into a nice school, and had a uniform, school books was cause my mum worked for the guy who was my English teacher at the school I attended. She worked extra hard, so I could stay in the school.  

My mum Lindiwe still gets paid that amount. Here I was thinking that the world was going to end if I did not have a cup of Green tea in the morning, but I did not actually. I’m still here living, but the frustrating part is that knowing out there somewhere there’s a family or person, even an animal who does not have a meal today, or $10. Which hurts me, so feeling a little bit of hunger in a week is not that bad.

Indulgence ...and paying it forward

It's a new day and Miri and I have not taken a bite for granted. We woke up earlier than necessary on a Saturday morning and enjoyed every bite of toast and butter. It was so divine. We tasted flavors we'd never noticed before. The smell of coffee was beyond describable.

And then we decided to go all out and fry up some bacon, which we were fortunate enough to find in our freezer. Pure indulgence (and we're sure we'll feel sick later from all of the fat.

But this indulgence was not lost on us. We made a decision today that we want to use this weekend to treat others to a good meal. We've decided that with all donations we receive today we will buy ingredients to prepare meals that we will hand out in town tomorrow. We will also put together a pile of clothes to donate to those in need.

We hope you will help in any small way by clicking the pay pal link to donate. We'll be sure to post pictures of the process.

Thank you all for following our journey. We challenge you to try living below the line for 5 days, or even trying to limit your groceries to only the food you will use for a week without throwing any excess away. Any money you save or food left over can be donated to a worthy cause near you.

Friday feast

Liver and potatoes!

Salad!!

It's Friday and we're on our last evening below the line. We are having a veritable feast tonight with all the treats and leftovers. Tonight it's roasted potatoes and a bit of onions with liver pate. Yay for protein. Plus we also saved our only tomato that I am using in a salad. Fresh veggies! First time this week!

Diverting thoughts of hunger

Raw cabbage for a snack, anyone?

It's Day 4 and my stomach has been growling constantly since mid-afternoon. I ate my same old pap and cabbage for lunch (with seasoning :) ) at around 11:30 and by 14:00 my apple for the day was devoured. I'm so glad we managed to leave some small treats to comfort us later in the week. We have that extra apple to share between us after dinner tonight. Somehow that's not so comforting at 4pm. My mind in consumed with thoughts of food. Which brings me to today's subject: diversion.

The night before last Miri opted to go to bed early so she could stop thinking about her hunger. I tried to convince her otherwise because I had done the same the night before, and sleeping early just meant I accomplished even less in my day. We're already functioning at reduced capacity during school or work. Focus takes a little longer. Walking goes a little slower. Instead last night we both found ways to busy ourselves: Miri at a concert and I at an art opening. Although going out can be more challenging because there aren't a lot of ways to be entertained without involving food. Miri was surrounded by others enjoying the delights of a stadium event, and I was teased by the free sushi and wine in which I could not partake at the opening. 

I suppose there is good and bad to these teasers. I feel good in the sense that I have set my mind to the task. It was actually not as difficult as I thought it might be to turn down the free food that others enjoyed, and the art was a welcome distraction from my hunger. I also felt proud of Miri that she too at a young age has felt strongly enough about the challenge to resist opportunities to 'cheat' throughout the week. And yet the darker side comes in when I consider that our success is largely due to an ability to say "only two more days and I can enjoy a hearty breakfast and latte." Not exactly a level playing field to those who actually experience living below the line. Even the ways that we were able to distract our minds away from our hungry bellies were not options open to the disadvantaged. Firstly, I was driven to the art exhibition, as was Miri to the concert. We could never have walked to these locales or even taken a train if we were living below the line. Even if someone were living nearby the art gallery, I am sure someone living below the line would have been kindly escorted out of the event before enjoying a glass of wine and some tapas. It really is incredible the layering of disadvantage that poverty brings. I wonder what those below the line do to distract themselves from the hunger, and what they do to keep getting up to repeat the process day in and out. 

For now I will sign off and treat myself to a free walk up and down some stairs to try to brighten my mind and quiet the hunger pangs... all the while knowing that in just over a day this difficult experience will no longer endure.

Half way point

A special humpday dinner of potatoes and
a quarter can of beans

It's Wednesday, which means we're half way through the challenge. I woke up really agitated today. No headaches, but just severe irritation with everything around me. I can certainly understand why someone who lived this way day in and day out would feel generally defeated.

In the meantime, Miri rushed off to school without eating breakfast and forgot her lunch, which we had packed in advance (yep... cabbage and pap again). I drove to the school to leave it for her to prevent her from starving through the day or breaking the challenge with food from friends... not really a viable option for those living below the line.

As the day went on, I started to do better. I tried to put things in perspective. I'm eating nearly as much food as I would regularly, just without the snacks (and the luxury items like coffee or wine), but I'm also eating less rounded meals. Mostly carbs and a little bit of cooked veg, much like the labourers heading to work with their half loaves of white bread for lunch. You can buy half loaves of bread in South Africa specifically for the fact that it's a good filler for those on a tight budget. Truly humbling.

This afternoon someone knocked on our door as tends to happen a few times a week. They were asking for food or money or even bottles to return, and initially my husband turned them away. We don't always say no, but there's a point at which I guess we don't want to be the go-to house that always has food. I yelled WAIT as this week more than any I want to give away as much as we can. We had it to spare since Miri and I aren't eating much, and the thought of someone leaving without some fresh fruit or veg was beyond my comprehension. But it is a fine balance we all contend with living so near to poverty. If we all gave a little when we could...

Coffee withdrawal

So it's day two and already energy levels are low between us. Food is already boring. We ate plain oatmeal for breakfast and lunch yesterday, so a cabbage and onion stirfry with knor seasoning for dinner with and a ball of pap (maize meal cooked semi-stiff) was a welcome diversion... except that we had the same for lunch and dinner today.

The worst part so far has been the significant drop in energy for us both and the noticeable headache I sat with all day at work from caffeine withdrawal. I keep reminding myself that we're only on day two and we've been reasonably well fed - there's even been an apple for a snack in the afternoon - but life without coffee has been quite the shock to my system.

I've never been a hectic coffee drinker; I've always opted for the extra small (formerly known as small) at timmies. I'm a cup a morning kind of girl. But since putting in extra long days trying to finish my degree (9-10 hours/day of serious thinking and writing five days a week),  I've enjoyed a second cup in the afternoon, especially if it's a latte. Ohhhhh latteeee. I think I've beat the headache now, but this week will only get tougher...