Barloworld Equipment, the dealer for Cat earthmoving machines in eleven Southern African territories, in an alliance with parent Barloworld Limited, a distributor of leading global brands, and fellow group business unit, Avis, partnered with Machel and global non-profit organisation, Stop Hunger Now, to mark her birthday and help to eradicate hunger.

Machel’s birthday coincides with World Food Day – an annual event founded by the United Nations to highlight issues of food security and global hunger – inspiring her to celebrate the occasion by leading a massive meal packing initiative in aid of Zizile Institute for Child Development in Mozambique.

The event is one of many activities to mark World Hunger Action Month and saw 70 000 meals packed for beneficiaries in Mozambique. In South Africa, Barloworld Limited will lead a challenge to pack 100 000 meals on Friday, 23 October.

Machel is Stop Hunger Now Southern Africa’s chief patron and was supported by the Church of the Latter Day Saints who provided the venue and volunteers for the meal packing event.

Approximately 870 million people go to bed hungry every day. That is one out of every eight people on the planet, making hunger number one on the list of the world’s top 10 health risks.

“Hunger kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Even worse, it is the single biggest solvable problem facing the world today,” Machel said.

Stop Hunger Now partnered with Barloworld, Barloworld Equipment and Avis to roll out two events to mark World Hunger Action Month and pack a combined total of 170 000 meals.

“Barloworld Equipment believes that our success should also contribute to the quality of life in, and the prosperity and sustainability of, communities where we work and live,” says Lesibana Ledwaba, executive director: Strategy, Risk & Sustainability, Barloworld Equipment.

“The company is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, a United Nations initiative which encourages businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their implementation. These principles guide our activities across every facet of the business, including our CSI policy, which drives our participation in initiatives such as this one.”

Barloworld Equipment (trading locally as Barloworld Equipamentos) has branches in Beira, Maputo, Tete and Pemba to support its Cat earthmoving customer base across Mozambique.

A total of 325 boxes containing 70 000 meals were packed in Mozambique. Of these, 125 will go to Machel’s beneficiary organisation Zizile, and the remaining 200 will be donated to two causes identified by Barloworld Equipment and Avis in Mozambique.

“Finding a partner like Barloworld, who is as committed as we are to eradicating hunger in our lifetime, was a refreshing change and shows that corporate South Africa’s partnership with NGOs can make a difference in the lives of children. We are honoured by Barloworld’s gesture and look forward to many meal packaging events with them worldwide. Happy Birthday Ma Machel,” said Saira Khan, chief executive of Stop Hunger Now Southern Africa.

In addition to its participation in the World Hunger Action Month event, Barloworld Equipment recently purchased a computer laboratory for one of the marginalised rural schools in All Days, Musina, South Africa - Mabotha Secondary School. In Malawi, as part of a multi-stakeholder initiative, the company contributes its service technical expertise towards the maintenance of the mobile ship clinic (Chauncy Maples) that serves the rural communities surrounding Lake Malawi.

“Only by investing in our future can it be secured. CSI offers a real opportunity to invest in building communities that we can serve, and that will serve us, for the benefit of all concerned,” concludes Ledwaba.

For more information, visit the Barloworld website. Alternatively, connect with them via Facebook or on Twitter.