North West farmers extend helping hand to hungry communities

Prompted by their own hardship during a decade of drought, farmers in the Schweizer-Reneke area have recognised the urgent need to help unemployed and hungry families in the local communities. Lindi Botha spoke to Jozeph du Plessis about the farmers’ project to distribute maize meal to the needy.

- Jozeph du Plessis

A wide network of volunteers in the Schweizer-Reneke area has ensured that over 3 000 12,5kg bags of maize meal have been distributed.

Jozeph du Plessis, a fifth-generation farmer in Schweizer-Reneke, North West, has witnessed the expansion of the area’s townships, and with it increasing levels of poverty.

“There are fewer and fewer employment opportunities and so many people without any form of income. We couldn’t sit by while people were going hungry, so we started a project to distribute maize meal,” he says.

For the last decade, Du Plessis has been part of a group of 20 farmers who donate maize to agricultural ministries in the area. When South Africa went into hard lockdown in 2020 to contain the spread of COVID-19, the farmers ramped up this project and in May began sending maize to Suidwes Landbou for milling. The maize meal, packed in 12,5kg bags, was distributed to people who had no income and did not receive government grants. These were the only criteria used to decide on the beneficiaries, who live in Schweizer-Reneke, Ipelegeng, Migdol, and Amalia.

Du Plessis notes that care is taken to distribute the maize meal without creating a dependency on it. “We keep records of who has received maize meal, and since it is only given to those who really need it, the list changes every month depending on the circumstances of the families.”

A wide circle of community members assists in identifying the needy and distributing the maize accordingly. These include members of Amos Agri Ministries Schweizer-Reneke and NG Moedergemeente Schweizer-Reneke, a school principal and his wife from Migdol, and social workers from Amalia. So far, the project has assisted hundreds of households.