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.