Children Being Fed Throughout Community

FEESA is now feeding children in the following areas
of the community: Zone L, Zone O, Nkanini, and
Maholwni. The greatest impact is being felt in
Zone O where we have begun to provide 300 meals
per day. The majority of the funding for these meals
was provided by all of the artists who contributed
to FEESA's annual E-bay art auction in December
of 2010. Major funding was also provided by Allstate
and a group of people in Roanoke, VA. Thanks
everyone! Your generous contributions have really
made a huge difference.

Thanks Roanoke!

We have started a new program thanks
to all of the people in Roanoke who
contributed to FEESA. It will feed 100
children a day for two weeks. Thank
you for helping out the community of
Kayamandi.

1,400 meals and counting

So far, we have fed 1,400 hungry kids thanks to the artists and Allstate/JI. We are adding two new groups of women to the community that will be funded by the people of Roanoke and the people and businesses that donated to the annual poker tournament. If you can't read the t-shirt on that one girl, it says "I"d trade my brother for a cupcake". Thanks everyone!

Thank you Allstate/JI!!!!

Started another food program yesterday that has been
funded by Allstate/JI. Thank you so much!!! The kids
were really happy!!!

Friday's Feast

This little guy was just chillin', eating his meal. Around 5:30, they all come running with their bowls in hand. Thanks again to all of the artists who donated their awesome artwork to help FEESA feed kids! 800 meals and counting.
Thanks to Allstate and J.I., FEESA will be starting another program in a different area of Kayamandi. It will be continuing for the next three Saturdays, will feed 600 children, and employ 4 single moms to make the meals. Thanks Allstate/J.I.!!!!!

Pictures from Kayamandi

Pictures should say it all...
Thank you artists!!!

Another 200 hungry kids go home happy

We fed another 200 very hungry children last night and the kids
were loving it! The single moms were well prepared and the
portions were large and yummy! Again, the next two plus weeks
are being funded by the artists who contributed to the December
art auction. FEESA, along with the people and children of
Kayamandi can not thank you enough!!!

Loaded up on the Lamb!!!

Today, we went to a local farm and loaded up on slaughtered
lamb. I had 10 lamb heads, 40 lamb legs, a bunch of guts, and
some fat. And I loaded it all in my small rental car (hope none
of the juice got in the car!) They were all slaughtered today
and loaded into a truck and trailer which were completely
packed. Probably over 100 lambs in a regular size truck
with a small trailer. There were about 15 other black people
there waiting for the meat as well. All of the good cuts go to
the white people of South Africa. But this is good for two
reasons. First of all, black people in South Africa are used to
getting this type of meat and they have come to prefer it.
Secondly, it is very cheap. We spent $75- on over 100 pounds
of lamb. Yesterday, we did the same thing with a cow. It is
not pretty, but the children really love meat and this is the
most cost effective way to do it.

Driving around the township is crazy as well. Two children
walked right in front of me today without even looking. I
drive really slow because so many people are oblivious of
cars. If I were driving 25, I would have hit at least one of
the children. There are very few cars so they have grown
accustomed to walking where they want, when they want.
Adults and children alike.

Another odd cultural custom is the men and boys who relieve
themselves whenever and wherever they please. The people
live for the here and now and do not think about the
consequences of their actions. I drove by a 6 year old boy
today who had it out and was going right in the middle of the
street. These children are simply mimicking their elders...
These impulsive actions are what I believe to be the main
reasons why the HIV/AIDS rate and birth rates are so high.

Thank you so much artists!!!!!!

Thanks so much to all of the artitsts who participated in the art
auction in December!!! Because of you, FEESA was able to
successfully feed 200 children today and will continue the
program for the next few weeks. Because of you and your
generous contributions, 200 children will go to bed tonight
with full bellies! More pics and video to come...

Well, I made it to Kayamandi...

After driving 10 hours from Oregon to San Francisco, I flew back up to Seattle, retracing my steps only to begin my 20 hour/almost 2 day flight. Still adjusting to the time and the weather(it's really hot here at night). Attempting to work with a local grade school to create a program that benefits teachers while providing meals for children. Unfortunately the exchange rate has dropped about 15% since I was here last, plus they added a service charge during the world cup and kept it in place. In addition to that, gas prices have increased the cost of food. But, FEESA is still going to feed as many hungry kids as possible! We should be starting next week and continuing throughout March.