Ikamva Labantu

Ikamva Labantu (‘Future of the People’ in Xhosa) is a South African charity which supports children, elderly people and other particularly vulnerable groups living in township communities. It runs three main programmes: Early Childhood Development, which cares for vulnerable children under six and trains early years practitioners; Family Services, which provides recreation and life skills training, counselling, disability support and emergency parcels for families in crisis; and Seniors, which provides practical support and companionship to over a thousand vulnerable elderly people every day. The COVID-19 crisis and the outbreak of widespread civil unrest in South Africa have severely impacted the township communities supported by Ikamva Labantu. The threat of hunger looms large. In response, the charity has launched a massive community feeding programme. Aided by two emergency grants from the Trust, Ikamva Labantu now feeds roughly 50,000 vulnerable community members on a monthly basis through 250 neighbourhood kitchens.