Add Hope teams, NGO leaders, media and influencers gathered in Hillbrow on 11 October 2017 at NGO Mould, Empower, Serve (MES) to experience how hope is stronger than hunger this World Hunger Month. MES is one of 137 NGOs supported by Add Hope.  With World Hunger Month in October, including World Food Day on 16^th October, KFC is aiming to raise over R5 million in Add Hope donations which will go to feeding over 120 000 children around the country at NGOs like MES.

The MES Dinaledi Preschool children challenged influencers including Sthembiso Khoza, Proverb, Smash Afrika, DJ Sabby, Hayley Owen and Nicole da Silva to three activities - soccer, chess and crafts, to show how essential good nutrition is for the development of physical, psychosocial and cognitive skills at an early age.

“Too many children are living in poverty, and a lack of nutritious food can give them a really rough start in life. They have enough challenges to face. We can all make a difference, and Add Hope is a simple way to do it,” said actor Sthembizo Khoza, who is a passionate ambassador for Add Hope.  Actress Hayley Owen said, “These kids come from a very tough area, and for many of them, the meal they get here at MES is there only meal of the day. I’m really happy to see how well they’re doing, and hope we can reach more children if we all pull together.”

KFC Public Affairs Director for Africa, Thabisa Mkhwanazi, says the World Hunger Month campaign focuses on the message – hope is stronger than hunger.  ““Our objective is to create an engaging experience to drive conversations around the hunger crisis in Africa, at the same time showing the hope that centres such as MES Dinaledi provide. We’re exploring how better nutrition in early childhood can have a lasting impact on physical, cognitive and social development, giving the next generation hope by unlocking potential and boosting prosperity. It’s the single most important factor in creating a better future for these children. When you add hope, you give a child so much more than food.”

In a country where hunger and poor nutrition pose a major risk to the development of millions of children, initiatives like Add Hope that channel funds towards feeding children are playing a vital role.  The pressure is on to maintain levels of feeding and increase the children Add Hope is able to reach, and Mkhwanazi says that KFC wants to partner with customers to do more. “Statistics SA shows that 51% of people are living in poverty, most of whom are children. Malnutrition is rife and this has a lifelong impact. We need to do everything we can to turn the tide on hunger. As KFC, we continue to increase its own CSI contributions, based on a percentage of profits. We appreciate every  customer donation as these donations enable Add Hope to keep increasing the amount of children we reach,” says Mkhwanazi.  Add Hope works because it’s a small donation that is quick to add – it’s really the power of the collective to change lives. Hope really is stronger than hunger.”

To find out more about the Add Hope, visit www.addhope.co.za
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