| LOVE TO GIVE NEWSLETTER | DECEMBER 2025 |
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| This month, we are celebrating
Love to Give’s 20th Anniversary!
And how proud we are to be one of the many organizations involved in “the messy beautiful business of building a better world”.
We face hard messy challenges and do so with all the seriousness of any business. And it’s heartwarming and beautiful because the impact is tangible and empowering. |
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| HUNGER, MALNUTRITION AND STUNTING
In South Africa, 29% of children are stunted by the age of 5,
and this affects them physically and cognitively.
It’s a shocking statistic. At Love to Give, we know it is true because we see it daily in the queues of children lining up to get their food from us. We see it in the fights which our staff have to break up between the children as the older ones steal sandwiches from the younger ones. We see the stunting in their shoe sizes when we do shoe donations.
Importantly, the baseline data from the Greenlight Love to Give Poverty Survey Report September 2025 shows the following results: |
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| Narrative stories from our beneficiaries confirm that households cannot consistently provide nutritious meals, and children are at risk of hunger outside school hours. The combination of extreme income poverty, high rates of food insecurity and narrative evidence of hunger shows that the daily after-school sandwich, fruit and nutritional porridge as well as the monthly family food parcel and vegetables from our food gardens which Love to Give hands out are not a luxury, they are a necessity.
We believe food security is at the heart of every human right.
Not having nutritious food condemns people to a life of inequality. Not only that, there’s a massive social and economic cost attached to the effects of malnutrition on the whole of society.
Things can and should be different. |
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| THE LINK BETWEEN POVERTY, INEQUALITY
AND THE BREAKDOWN OF DEMOCRACY
Recent statistics tells us that the wealthiest one percent increased their wealth by 41% in a space of five years and that 83% of countries in the world fit the World Banks definition of inequality. Most alarmingly, these countries also see a regression of democratic norms, which further increases the vulnerability of the poor. If one thinks about the link between poverty and inequality and the breakdown of democracy in society, one soon comes to the realization that the inequality in our society is not good for any of us.
At Love to Give, in addition to the work we are doing to overcome food insecurity, we hold workshops to address issues of inequality. We empower our participants with information on what it means to be an active citizen. When it comes to service delivery, we encourage them to realise that small every day acts like fixing and reporting water leaks can lead to their reclaiming agency.
On a personal level addressing inequality through simply stepping out of your comfort zone to look a person in the eye and have a conversation about right and wrong, you can put aside differences and see each other as humans. |
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| THE ROAD AHEAD
The people who come through our gate, whether a learner, a youth intern or an unemployed adult, have a unique story which they tell us with passion and hope. We learn about their realities, and long to do more for them.
Our dream for the Kayamandi community is to become one with basic safety, food security, good childcare, dignity, comfortable accommodation, decent schools and health services.
After twenty years, it is good to reflect on how far we have come and the many heart-warming personal stories about positive impact and real change in people’s lives, many of which we have reported on. That said, there is still much to be done for a community that is wracked by fear, food insecurity, gender-based violence, crime, drug and alcohol abuse and corruption. |
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| A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM FORMER LOVE TO GIVE CENTRE MANAGER, JACQUES TREADWAY:
Thank you so much for your beautiful message, and heartfelt congratulations to you and the entire Love to Give team on this extraordinary 20-year milestone.
“What a powerful legacy of compassion, resilience, and community care we have built together. Reading your reflections, I was deeply moved, and truthfully brought to tears, by the scale and spirit of the work. These are not just programmes or interventions, they are lifelines, restoring dignity and opening doors for Kayamandi families and youth who might otherwise have been left behind.”
I am humbled by your kind words, but I know that any contribution I made was just one thread in a much larger tapestry woven by many hands: the entire Love to Give team, our valued donors, dedicated volunteers, and above all, the Kayamandi community itself, each has played a vital role in shaping this journey. It has been a privilege to witness and support the work, and I continue to learn and grow from the example you’ve set. |
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| Love to Give is a non-profit organisation and will issue Section 18A tax certificates for donations received from both individuals and organisations. As a Public Benefit Organisation, donations are tax-deductible. |
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Donate via EFT
Bank: ABSA
Acc. Name: Stellenbosch Community Development Programme
Acc. No: 406 384 1099
Branch Code: 632005
SWIFT Code: ABSAZAJJ |
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| To you, our donors, partners and supporters, we thank you for all your donations and your support without which we would not exist. We very much hope you will stay with us on this journey.
Wishing you all a safe and peaceful festive season, and a successful 2026.
With warm regards,
Annabel and the team at Love to Give |
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