Gift of the Givers representative Emily Thomas has urged South Africans to join them in fighting against hunger in the country. World Hunger Day is aimed at finding sustainable solutions to ending extreme hunger and poverty. The United Nations World Food Programme estimates that there are about 842 million undernourished people in the world. Poor nutrition causes nearly … [Read more...]
Soweto is mopped up after floods
Reconstruction is moving swiftly ahead in part of Soweto damaged by flash floods last week, while relief aid is being given to families whose homes were washed away. AN estimated R350-million will be spent by the City in "cleaning up and reconstructing" those parts of Soweto that were wrecked by flash floods last week. Gabu Tugwana, the City's director of communications, … [Read more...]
Stand with the Philippines
The horror of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines is unimaginable. Ten thousand people wiped away by a 25ft wall of water driven by 300km/h winds. A city of 200,000 people looks like a nuclear bomb hit it. It's the worst storm on record, but it's just the beginning, unless we act. Right now the world's powers are in a global climate conference talking about whether to hand … [Read more...]
A rough summer for Mindanao
A top-level crisis management team should be assigned in Mindanao to address challenges in areas badly hit by typhoon “Pablo.” The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) aired this proposal yesterday, citing the “rising death toll, the extent of damages, and the looming humanitarian crisis” as a result of the powerful storm. Mindanao is the second largest island in the … [Read more...]
Bee attacks raise concerns about city beekeeping
The recent dramatic bee attacks in the Western Cape have raised fresh concerns about the growing trend of urban beekeeping in South Africa. The recent incident saw more than thirty cyclists participating in a race being attacked by bees from a nearby hive – some riders had as many as 100 stings removed and others who were allergic had to be airlifted to hospital. Urban … [Read more...]
Another tragedy in the Congo
It has happened yet again, another African tragedy with more than 250 dead, 2000 wounded with varying degrees of severity including burns, mandatory amputations and major trauma. Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, represents a war zone with thousands of homes, businesses and two churches destroyed. Windows shattered four km away, civilians trapped under rubble, all the … [Read more...]
Sustainable building benefits communities and volunteers
Sustainability is spreading into communities via greener corporates who take their green commitment to the next level. Nedbank’s Caring for Communities initiative helps to entrench the values and benefits of sustainability in the lives of mainly rural communities. They undertook no fewer than 136 projects in 2011, assisting 59 separate schools and communities around the country … [Read more...]
Communities deal with aftermath of heavy rain and floods
The worst might be over, but now reality strikes. Hundreds of people in Mozambique, Limpopo and Mpumalanga must now pick up the pieces of their already difficult lives after heavy rain and floods left them destitute and the community in shambles. It might no longer be front page news, but have you given a thought the terrible trauma of piecing a life together after such … [Read more...]
A letter From Hugh Masekela
Growing up as a musician in South Africa I witnessed first hand the man-made obscenity that was apartheid and used music to protest against injustice. Apartheid is now consigned to the history books, but another obscenity still exists on our continent. A famine in Somalia that has killed 30,000 children in 3 months. Yet the current crisis is a man-made disaster that could … [Read more...]
Calls for Duduza relief aid
"We are worried about school; we have no bags, no stationery, no uniforms. We will fall behind in our education whilst other children will work". During a trauma counselling session with children affected by the tornado in Duduza, besides an overwhelming fear of the "black wind with two eyes" or "the snake that laid its eggs," the preoccupation and greatest anxiety was the … [Read more...]
Largest hospital for ‘gift of the givers’
Gift of the Givers has just been granted permission to set up base, medical teams, equipment and supplies at Banadir Hospital, the largest hospital in Mogadishu (the largest city in Somalia) where thousands of patients are flocking to from various refugee camps in and around Mogadishu and the South, and are in desperate need of life saving medical assistance. The absence of … [Read more...]
Another 600 tons for Somalia relief
South Africa's Ubuntu Spirit knows no bounds. We are indeed making an emphatic continental statement that Africa is coming to the aid of Africans unreservedly. The power is not in the proclamation but in the execution: being the first African agency and the only agency in the world to fly 6 planes into Mogadishu in a two week period delivering 112 tons of aid, gave a very good … [Read more...]
Famine stricken Somalia vs Climate Diplomacy at COP17
Realist Foreign Policy refers to the policy of a sovereign state in its interaction with other sovereign states. It might seem strange that an article that opens with a line like this finds itself in an environmental publication. Yet, it is not strange at all, as environmental issues like climate change don't 'respect' state boundaries. There is an environmental side to … [Read more...]
