By Style Reporter
Beneficiaries of the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society (ZRCS)’s Food Insecurity Response programme in Mwenezi district, Masvingo, have hailed the organisation for its support which is alleviating their suffering.
The project, which covers 2 000 households with monthly food voucher support ranging from US$13 up to US$65 according to family size, is funded by the British Red Cross and covers beneficiaries in wards 5, 8 and 14.
Under the programme, beneficiaries receive food vouchers which they redeem for an agreed food basket in identified shops in the area.
Melody Sithole, a beneficiary of the project from Dungwe village in ward 5 of Mwenezi district, said she was grateful to the Red Cross for the support.
“I want to thank the Red Cross for this invaluable support. They have been giving us this monthly allocation since last year and we are really thankful for their support,” said Sithole, a mother of five.
“Food is a very important component of our everyday living and we are grateful for this project.
“For some of the locals, there is no hope even after the harvests because the rains were too much and our crops got affected.”
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Sithole’s sentiments were echoed by Kudakwashe Mahlevo of Negara village in the same ward who said his family was much healthier thanks to the Red Cross support.
“The Red Cross’s food voucher programme is really meaningful in that the allocation I am getting monthly really makes a difference,” Mahlevo said.
“Today, I got 50kg of mealie meal, six litres of cooking oil, five packets of sugar beans, 5kg flour, 2kg rice, washing and bathing soap as well as salt, which really goes a long way in enhancing my family’s food security.”
ZRCS secretary-general Elias Hwenga said the organisation would continue looking at ways to support the marginalised and disadvantaged members of the community.
“While competing needs always outweigh available resources, the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society will continue to provide the much-needed support to the marginalised,” Hwenga said.
“Food security remains a challenge in most Zimbabwean communities and we are thankful to our partners for this support.
“We are also looking at ways to scale up our local fundraising efforts so that we reach more communities.”
While the good rains received this year have resulted in bumper harvests for some, it was excessive in some areas which actually affected yields.
In some areas, the rains were outrightly poor and there are no prospects of good harvests.
This has resulted in calls for continued support of the affected communities to alleviate the suffering of the masses.
Ward 8 councillor Hlaisi Runoza told Standard Style that while some of the locals had managed to salvage something out of the fields, about 80% were most likely to be food-insecure because of poor harvests.
“We really hope the Red Cross will continue with this noble initiative. Many families are relying on this intervention for survival and a drastic end of the programme will leave many vulnerable,” Runoza said.
The food distribution exercise is being conducted under the World Health Organisation’s Covid-19 guidelines.
