Chronicle Editor
Sunday News Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) on Friday handed over a consignment of foodstuffs to 729 households in Ward 13, Gwanda district in Matabeleland South province.
The food distribution programme is part of the humanitarian efforts undertaken by the organisation to assist vulnerable members of society in some rural districts in the country. Each food hamper handed over contained mealie-meal (10kg), 2kgs beans and 750ml cooking oil. ZCC Humanitarian services and Diakonia director Ms Maria Tendai Dendere said the ration was meant to cover up for last month.
“The food aid programme in Gwanda Ward 13 resumed today. The project faced some funding hiccups resulting in the stalling of distributions since January, but it has rekindled the hopes of the people of Garanyemba. Plans are underway to give out the handouts for the duration of the remaining peak hunger period as the project makes concerted efforts to cover up for the skipped months. The programme has two main components, that is food assistance and sustainable agriculture resilience building. But only Gwanda has both components, the other two districts only have only one component, the livelihoods one,” she said.
The project is funded by Finish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (FELM) and is an extension of a bigger programme dubbed “scaling up livelihoods and resilience” which ZCC is implementing in Gwanda, Zvishavane and Mwenezi districts. It is a four-year programme, now in second year. The season for distribution of food hampers stretches from November to March, and up to April in dry areas like Gwanda. ZCC is also assisting the vulnerable with food in Masvingo, under a different programme.
Bongani Ndlovu