Hollywoodbets teamed up with the Ndungane Twins Foundation to donate R50 000 in food parcels to Mthatha community.
Eastern Cape – On Monday the 20th of April, Hollywoodbets and the Ndungane Twins Foundation once again came together to assist the community in the fight against the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Directors of The Ndungane Twins Foundation, Springbok rugby stars and Hollywoodbets Brand Ambassadors, Odwa and Akona Ndungane were overwhelmed with the donation from the Hollywoodbets My Community Programme in support of a cause close to their hearts.
Their first collaboration with Hollywoodbets resulted in a young rugby player’s school fees being paid, while this time the joint initiative led to R50 000 in non-perishable grocery items being purchased to help support a community in need.
We chose to donate food parcels to our community. The donation from Hollywoodbets assisted us in being able to help a lot of families who are in desperate need”
The Ndungane twins are originally from Gxulu, a small village located outside of Mthatha in the Eastern Cape. This greatly impacted their decision to focus this initiative on homes who are struggling within this community. With the help of their mother and her church community, they were able to identify 64 households that were in desperate need of food parcels. Mthatha is located in a rural area and therefore many of the community members often receive support from the church. This helped to ascertain which homes were in dire need of assistance during these difficult times. The food parcels included staples such as flour, rice, sugar, cooking oil, maize, potatoes and much more.
“We had a massive positive response from the handover. We received a large number of phone calls expressing thanks for the donations. The community members were overwhelmed with happiness as these food parcels are a source of food for their families and therefore can help them get through these difficult times. This project is really important and special to us, as this is a community that we grew up in. South Africa is going through a very challenging time because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many South African homes are finding things difficult and people are unable to buy food due to a loss in income. We chose to donate food parcels to our community. The donation from Hollywoodbets assisted us in being able to help a lot of families who are in desperate need,” said Odwa Ndungane.
According to Devin Heffer, Brand and Communications Manager at Hollywoodbets, it was an absolute joy to collaborate with the Ndungane twins in this way. “When we heard of the twins’ desire to do good in the place where they are from, we felt compelled to get behind them and to do what we can to help them as they aid the Mthatha community. It was also important for us because we have a branch in the same area, so we were eager to assist a community where we operate too. We are aware that there is an urgent need in these rural communities and applaud Odwa and Akona for taking action by encouraging the people from their home town, as well as providing them with practical help. Their hearts align clearly with ours during this time and we feel that they’ve showcased the true spirit of Ubuntu which is one of Hollywoodbets’ core values,” said Heffer.
In keeping with the special requirements during this time strict safety measures were put in place. The day started off at a local shop to ensure that all food parcels were being packed correctly. The parcels were then handed over to people while all the lockdown regulations were followed. Chosen households were sent messages at different times to collect their parcels. Each family was allowed to send one representative to collect their items in a wheelbarrow, allowing them to transport their goods home easily. Everyone’s hands were sanitised before they were allowed to collect their parcels and IDs were checked before handing over the goods to ensure that the correct beneficiaries received the parcels.
