Joint Aid Management CFO: There are opportunities to support the vital work of non-profits.
The Covid-19 crisis has brought the social divide in South Africa – and Africa – into even sharper focus than ever before, leaving thousands of school children hungry.
Many of the usual school feeding projects have been paused and donations to orphanages have dried up due to the focus on Covid-19. Homeless shelters, hastily established during lockdown, rely on goodwill to keep going.
Fortunately not all superheroes wear capes. Nico Esterhuizen, CFO at Joint Aid Management (JAM) International, is one of the Covid-19 heroes leading some of the humanitarian efforts within South Africa and beyond our borders.
“In these times of the Covid-19 crisis, many organisations, both for-profit and non-profit, are finding it a challenge to operate but it will be the most vulnerable people in our society that will suffer the most and struggle to survive,” commented Nico.
JAM is a resourceful organisation that feeds thousands of people for as little as R21 per person per week. Established in 1984, the registered non-profit is an African-founded and -headquartered international relief and development organisation operating in South Africa, Angola, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and Sierra Leone.
Many of these countries have been ravaged by war, famine and floods over the decades.
JAM’s first step when entering a community is to provide a highly nutritious porridge to the children who attend the JAM-supported Early Childhood Development and care centres.
Every morning, each child enjoys a red bowl of the highly nutritious porridge which provides them with 75 percent of their daily macro and micro-nutrient requirements. This corn, soya and sugar blend fortified with other necessary nutrients, which is the key to the success of the programme.
“Now is a good time to support JAM during this period of self-reflection and gratitude for what we have. The impact that even a small regular donation can have on a child’s life is literally the difference between health and malnutrition,” adds Nico.
JAM South Africa is an essential service during lockdown and continues to provide relief to those most at risk who live among us by providing take-home food and hygiene packs to those living in informal settlements in all nine provinces. Apart from regularly feeding individuals, other programmes include agricultural development, water sanitation and health provision with training, as well as care for vulnerable people and care centre makeovers.
To make a world of difference in a vulnerable person’s life, visit https://jamsa.co.za/donate/. It’s also possible to donate at www.pnp.co.za or simply donate SmartShopper points to this good cause.
