Non-profits pull together to alleviate hunger in tornado-ravaged KZN community

Two tents housing over 500 people stand side by side on a sports ground in eMagwaveni township in Tongaat, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The ground is surrounded by destroyed houses, lots of rubble and a community lingering at the site waiting for a meal to be served or donations to arrive.

On 3 June, a tornado ripped through the township leaving 1,000 families homeless, 6 dead and R490 million worth of infrastructure damage in a storm that devastated parts of KZN. Almost a month later, desperation has created a survival of the fittest dynamic where people are trying to secure their next meal and building materials at all costs.

Read more in Daily Maverick: KZN tornado death toll rises to 11 as relief efforts continue

Daily Maverick spoke to Dudu Nzama, 59 who has lived in one of the disaster relief tents for the past three weeks. She has a family of eight children and grandchildren, who are staying with a relative in Verulam until they can find permanent accommodation together.

Two young men residing in eMagwaveni having lunch inside their tent. (Photo: Mandla Langa)

“As long as my children have a safe place for now, it’s fine I can sleep here, close to our home. I lost everything, the house is gone. I’m waiting to get building material, even that 16 sheets of steel they provide, I can make a little shack back on my space, I no longer want to be here” says Nzama.

Nzama says NPO organisations provide food but because there is a big need, stronger community members rush to the front of food queues, meaning some community members go without.

“I’m a gogo so I can’t run and push with these kids when they rush. Sometimes the food gets finished before the older people can get there,” said Nzama.

People going about their business on one of the busiest roads in eMagwaveni in Tongaat. (Photo: Mandla Langa)

SA Harvest steps in

Gift of the Givers, Unicef and other assisting outreach organisations have had to pull out from distributing food in the area due to how volatile site visits can become. Other organisations have stayed the course by employing alternative strategies to ensure the most vulnerable people access help.

SA Harvest, a non-profit organisation that rescues nutritious food destined for landfills and redistributes it, is on a mission to alleviate hunger in the community while tornado victims attempt to rebuild their homes. Eugene Kriel, SA Harvest National Operations Manager says they have had to choose a different model for Tongaat than other areas they provide food to.

Sihle Mwqadi from SA Harvest. (Photo: Mandla Langa)

Kriel says when the tornado hit the North coast town of Tongaat and its surroundings, organisations showed up in numbers handing out whatever goods they had to assist, such as food packs, clothes, blankets, mattresses and so forth. Kriel says although this approach was well intended, the packages didn’t get to those in need due to multiple factors such as people cheating the system by repeatedly collecting goods from multiple venues to sell, looting and leadership squabbles.

A soup kitchen at eMagwaveni informal settlement outside Tongaat feeds hundreds of tornado victims living in the tents at a local sports field. (Photo: Mandla Langa)

The food rescue organisation has opted to assist organisations such as the Tzu Chi Foundation, Red Cross Society and Meals on Wheels to store food and open a warehouse for daily food preparation, service and collection. SA Harvest provides nutritious vegetables, protein and starch to the organisations resulting in 1,000 meals being prepped and dished daily. Each organisation has on average seven different sites, tents and community halls for displaced people to take refuge.

Previously, SA Harvest would assess and provide two months’ worth of food to families but after assessing the specific dynamics in this community, the organisation also provided safe food storage space in Durban along with transport to sites daily.

Josey Zakumba and Eugene Kriel from SA Harvest at their storage facility in Kings Park stadium. (Photo: Mandla Langa)

Alan Browde, the founder of SA Harvest, said: “The suffering of communities - especially poorer ones - often inflicted by nature can be devastating beyond description. The recent high winds and destructive floods in KZN and the Eastern Cape were no exception, with thousands displaced, extensive damage to homes and, perhaps the most painful of all, increased hunger. Under normal conditions, hunger in these regions is at shocking levels, but after disasters like this they become catastrophic.

“We at SA Harvest, with our mission to end hunger in South Africa, are proud to have responded with speed to the situation in both provinces with the central aim of getting nutritious food to those most in need. As in Lusikisiki, where Daily Maverick and SA Harvest collaborated to help feed children deprived of their daily meal over the Christmas period, we are working together again to help alert the public to the need for financial help to make this relief effort, in KZN and the Eastern Cape, sustainable over as long a period as possible.    



“Our usual modus operandi is to rescue food from the food chain that would have gone to landfill and to distribute it to communities in need. While we still operate as far as possible this way, the locations of the areas of most damage are isolated and difficult to reach, especially by standard vehicles. For this reason, we are going to rely a lot on food parcels which will each be able to feed a family of six for around six weeks. The challenge is that most of the food in food parcels has to be bought as specific foods are required that may not be able to be rescued on a consistent level. These foods include long-life proteins, long-life, tinned fruits and vegetables etc. The parcels also include cooking and critical cleaning items.

“Needless to say, this way of working requires funding, and our cry is to get as much money as possible to keep thousands of people fed - especially the children whose rate of devastating malnutrition is sky-high - and nourished during this difficult period, which could last for a long time. 

“We owe the hugest debt of gratitude to our partners in this campaign, including Daily Maverick, Missionvale Care Centre in Gqeberha, which we are using as a base there, Boxer, Unicef, Meals on Wheels, World Vision and many others, and hope that with the help of Daily Maverick readers, we can all make a palpable difference.”

Living on the edge

A mother of three, 46, who wouldn’t share her name out of fear of retribution said, “We are struggling to get Sassa vouchers, most people here in eMagwaveni have not received the vouchers. People from as far as Bhamshela and Ndwedwe came into this community to claim vouchers and food parcels, so now these things haven’t reached the right people who need it,” she said.

“The community is fighting people who are in tents because they feel like they are being ignored, while people in tents need more aid as everyone who is here has lost everything,” she said.

Hundreds of homeless Tongaat residents queuing for lunch. (Photo: Mandla Langa)

She sleeps in a tent with her 9-year-old daughter. Her two older children (18 and 21) are living with relatives. Before the devastating storm, she lived in a family home with eight other family members, some of whom are now also living in tents.

She also said political factions made it hard for aid to reach everyone. This was echoed by volunteers on the ground who navigate these complexities.

SA Harvest aid co-ordinator Chiara Henry says “We are trying to get everyone who is helping in Tongaat to pull in the same direction, so this is a hub where all organisations can safely collect and go feed the community balanced, nutritional meals daily. This will show the community there is no need for that panic of ‘oh, this could be my last meal’. We find that communities engage with us better because they trust these organisations. We can not go house to house to deliver parcels. This strategy is working better with the help of our donors,” said Henry.

A homeless Tongaat resident helps prepare food for the rest of the homeless people. (Photo: Mandla Langa)

Food insecurity rife

KZN, one of South Africa’s most populous provinces, faces particular challenges around food insecurity, with data from 2016 suggesting that 23.3% of households didn’t have money to buy enough food over a 12-month period.

2021 data suggests a similar pattern, with 18.6% of KZN households experiencing food insecurity, and 14.3% being at risk of food insecurity. Many rely on social grants as their primary source of income. According to the study, “Something we can all share”: Exploring the social significance of food insecurity for young people in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa”, children, youth and women in KZN’s urban informal settlements and rural villages are especially vulnerable to food insecurity.

Poverty begins in childhood, with more than three-quarters of children in KZN living below the poverty line.

Children playing out on a playing field outside their creche in the township. (Photo: Mandla Langa)

“Growing up in these challenging conditions, young people are then faced with limited access to adequate nutrition and few economic opportunities to improve their situations,” the study found.

Henry told Daily Maverick that SA Harvest remains committed to alleviating the plight of Tongaat’s affected communities following the tornado. “It is very confronting, it is a lot to digest but we all standing here today because there are vulnerable groups who will not have any other means to access a nutritious meal daily.” DM

If you would like to contribute a donation to this cause, you can do so here.