How have we helped?

21st Century Leaders first started to fund Trade plus Aid programmes in South Africa in 2005. Between 2005 and 2009, the Trade plus Aid Nutritional Outreach Programme received $134,428 for the projects detailed below.

About Trade plus Aid Nutritional Outreach Programmes

Trade plus Aid continues to manage its Nutritional Outreach Programme, which serves 5 communities in the Johannesburg area. Over 650,000 meals and food parcels are delivered each year to the following:

Trauma Unit South African Police Station in Cleveland

Trade plus Aid supplies the Trauma Unit which is the police's own outreach programme. Food is collected from the Trade plus Aid workshop on a Friday morning and is broken down into packets. These packets are distributed to the elderly and infirm in the area, as well as numerous child-run households. Trade plus Aid is one of the few donors to this programme and the people who run it do so on a voluntary basis.

Impelo - Place of Safety Orange Grove

Trade plus Aid provides maize meal for abandoned babies and often works with the local police station and the Child Protection Unit to ensure that a safe place is found for each deserted child.

The Central Methodist Church JHB

Trade plus Aid donates all the maize and soya needed by the Central Methodist Church, whose volunteers go out onto the street of Central Johannesburg twice a week to feed the hungry. They supply 1,200 meals a night. Those in need are mainly 'illegal' immigrants, who have come to South Africa from its northern borders. Many of these people are not eligible for refugee status and therefore cannot benefit from the state 'system'.

Between December 2009 - March 2010, the W Hotel Doha and Doha Marriott hosted Whatever It Takes sales and events to raise funds for several Trade plus Aid South Africa programmes — assistance for the Twilight Children’s Shelter, Denver Informal Settlement, Life Assistance Hampers for Grannies and the Denver Hospice.

Twilight Children in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, South Africa

This project was established in 1983 and provides support to boys aged 8–18 years who are living on the streets and other public places without adequate or apparent adult or family support. The counselors at Twilight determine the boy’s family circumstances and try to encourage him to return to the care of family or guardian. In cases where boys are unable or unwilling to return home Twilight cares for boys’ physical, emotional, educational, health and developmental needs while giving him refuge from the streets in their shelter. For the older boys, Twilight Children provides vocational counseling and guidance as well as suitable training in basic life skills as well as assistance in finding secure employment and assistance in setting them up in alternative accommodation where they can become independent, productive citizens, in the community.

Funds raised from the sale of Whatever It Takes products have helped the Twilight Children develop an in house bakery program to: teach the older boys a new skill; eliminate the monthly cost of purchasing bread for the center (approximately 3000 USD/month); and create an additional income generating channel for the center by selling the loaves and sweets to community stores. The Whatever It Takes sales also permitted Trade plus Aid South Africa to purchase food that created over 40,000 meals for the boys and homeless community in Hillbrow that depend on the centers assistance.

The boys bake shop is self sustaining as they now sell sliced bread and treats to the community. With the funds raised through Whatever It Takes sales in Doha they were able to purchase a bread slicer, uniforms, flour and meal.

Cleveland/Denver Informal Settlement

With the assistance and co-ordination of the traditional leadership within the Informal Settlement, it is ensured that the correct protocol is followed for distributing food stuffs to the reliable channels with minimal waste.

Funds raised through the Whatever It Takes sales allowed Trade plus Aid South Africa to purchase life assistance hampers for lost generation families in the Cleveland/ Denver Informal Settlement in the Johannesburg region of South Africa. These families are headed by a 50-80 year old grandmothers who are raising and providing for four or more children between the ages of 4-18 as the parents have passed away or are no longer capable of caring for their children. The life assistance hampers provide each family with two months of food, basic hygiene products and toiletries.

Click here to view photographs of when 21st Century Leaders consultant Yana Fleming, visited Twilight Children and several other Trade plus Aid programmes in South Africa.