Giving their 67 Minutes for Madiba at the Boardwalk Hotel, Port Elizabeth on Saturday July 16, 20 of the city’s senior Christian leaders, once again, proved that they do ‘walk the talk’.
They were part of the “Stop Hunger Now” initiative and manned a table forming a production line which was marked by much fun, camaraderie and teasing.
Singing Shosholoza they soon had the other 14 tables joining in what was a very impressive performance by such leaders as Bishops Vincent Zungu and Lunga ka Siboto, Apostles Neville Goldman and Aliadi Mpateya, and Trevor Jennings. The shift of 15 tables filled over 50 000 bags of food which will go to feed hungry children in Eastern Cape NGOs.
Bishop Bethlehem Nopece had a prior engagement for that time slot but joined a table during one of the three later shifts.
Earlier, at a breakfast hosted by the hotel, Stop Hunger Now president and CEO, Rod Brooks and the SA CEO, Saira Khan gave some of the background of the organisation. It is an International non-profit initiative that seeks to end hunger, by working with volunteers packing meals, around South Africa and other countries – those packed in the various centres will stay within their provinces. Each 20-person line should manage to pack enough food to feed a child a nutritious meal every day for a year.
The theme of the initiative is “Follow the Sun” because it began in Malaysia and is working around to Peru in the west, hoping to pack 10 million meals in all. In each centre they are being hosted by Sun International Hotels.
Some of the other dignitaries who were at the breakfast and joined the packing lines were Madiba’s grandson and chief of the clan, Mandla Mandela with his wife, the Premier of the Eastern Cape, Phumulo Masualle and the Mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay, Danny Jordaan.