Food problem awareness drive

Abongile Guntu

Environmental Health Services, Social Development, Joburg Market and the Heart and Stroke Foundation gathered at Fred and Marties soup kitchen in Claremont, for the World Food Day Event on 21 October.

The purpose of the event was to raise awareness of the world food problem and assisting soup kitchens in the community with food and donations.

One of the owners of a soup kitchen, Yolindie Oberholzer said: “The soup kitchen plays a significant role within the community through providing food parcels every second week and feeding at least 400 people every day. Children are also assisted with after school programmes uniform and stationery.”

The Social Development Food Resilient unit provided the community with seeds and did a demonstration on how to plant them.

City of Joburg Urban Agriculture Management’s Gladness Boikanyo said: “Our unit donated 10 packs of vegetables for the World Food Day because the unit’s core programme focuses on gardening, encouraging food security and sustainability.”

The Heart and Stroke Foundation encouraged participants to make informed decisions regarding their food in terms of maintaining nourishment. The foundation’s Emma Siluma said: “We believe this initiative will help expose a healthy living lifestyle, which will reduce issues of stroke, heart disease, hypertension and heart attacks.”

Environmental Health Services also raised awareness on food handling, temperature control, hygiene and washing of hands. Its operational manager Morne Swart said: “It is important to give the community knowledge on why they should do things a certain way, such as washing their hands and wearing proactive gear when handing food.” small business owners are expected to attend the event.

CEO of the Innovator Trust Tashline Jooste says:

“Wit 2022 presents a call to action for women to #PowerUp in support of each other and unite toward creating opportunities for economic growth within the realm of tech entrepreneurship, despite the dire economic and social climate.”

In addition the programme promises an impressive lineup of guest speakers and panel discussions engaging on topics such as women and sustainability, African entrepreneurship and the effects of the energy crisis in the SMME sector and challenging the current status quo on the state of women in technology and entrepreneurship.

Virtual registrations to the event are now open until 16 November.

Johannesburg - Residents have been urged to use water sparingly while Joburg Water attends to water shortage affecting parts of the Gauteng province. Joburg Water managing director Ntshavheni Mukwevho attributed the water shortages to power outages at some of its reservoirs, among other challenges.

This follows interruptions at a bulk supplier in Vereeniging which were caused by a series of power outages. The temporary disturbance is said to have negatively impacted pumps at some reservoirs.

“We require 2 500 kilolitres per hour for our pumps to operate at optimal levels. The power interruption meant that the reservoir for our bulk supplier went low, which also affected our reservoirs,” Mukwevho said.

City Power said the reservoirs to which it supplies electricity are exempt from the rolling blackouts, and attributed the power outages to vandalism, theft and aging infrastructure.

City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava said: “We are able to isolate during load shedding and we ensure that their power is kept on.”

Meanwhile residents have been urged to exercise patience while the system is under pressure.

Helpline to address drug abuse

Johannesburg - The Gauteng government has launched a 24-hour substance abuse call centre service to help those in need of counselling, and is expected to address the drug abuse in communities.

The Department of Social Development has deployed social workers to manage the admission of drug addicts into rehabilitation centres.

Premier Panyaza Lesufi said the helpline will be led by agents who will refer clients to social workers for professional assistance.

Those in need of help can call:

0800 2288 27 134 474727 # and follow the prompts; send an email to GPAntiSubstanceAbuse@Gauteng. gov.zaUSSD, or dial 134 474727# and follow the prompts.