A story of Courage

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela

OUR START

A Hout Bay resident launched Courage in April 2020, on the eve of her first round of serious invasive surgery to try to beat her pancreatic cancer. She wanted to support the hungry of Hout Bay, so that they, too, could face life without fear in their battle against the myriad of challenges spawned by Covid-19. Her primary concern at this moment was that she had succeeded in mobilising her community into action. She pledged the first R1mil to start the food distribution program, knowing that many of her neighbours were going hungry during the lockdown.

The Courage Initiative was born out of crisis and the need to stand together as one in order to triumph. To begin, grocery outlets facilitated collection points for community members to contribute food and staples towards food parcels. The funding raised was soon put towards pre-packaged food parcels, which were ordered and delivered ready to be distributed to feed a family of 4 for 2 weeks. Local businesses and volunteers, offered their warehouses, delivery vehicles and time to handle the massive logistics around making sure this initiative ran smoothly. It was particularly difficult to deliver during the lockdown period which is when our relationship with the Hout Bay United Football Community (HBUFC) players and club members began. Hailing from the local community and unable to practice or play the sport for compensation, these young individuals formed a formidable delivery team. Along with the assistance of the club vehicles we delivered food to up to 6000 of our neighbours weekly.

Whilst Courage played a critical role in the lives of many in the community of Hout Bay during lockdown, we could not have done it without some of our amazing partnerships with a long list of NGO’s, who worked tirelessly with the Initiative to make sure that our community was led through this trying period. Our partnership with “Gracie Love in a Bowl”, who started growing organic vegetables in response to the extreme hunger in the community many years ago, has burgeoned into a powerful alliance.

The story today has evolved from the experience of COVID, and the partnership between Courage and the new Love in a Bowl project. We are wholly committed to the provision of food and nutrition to the needy and vulnerable in our community.

We have brought together heroes, communities and NGOs to work with solidarity to overcome difficult times.

Our focus will remain on pooling people, funding and resources in the most cost-effective and impactful way to address the most dire needs of affected communities.

OUR MISSION

To inspire all Africans to have the Courage to stand as one and create a safer more resilient society.

HUNGER CRISIS

The most serious consequence of any crisis is the lack of ability to have food on the table. If people from all walks of life collaborate, everyone can eat.