Aid projects are short-term interventions developed to help those in the greatest need
Our dual aid and sustain model of care nested within a larger all encompassing principle of honouring human dignity which informs the way the two project categories aid and sustain are conducted at every level.
Project: MEALIE MEAL - ESSENTIALS DELIVERY PROGRAM
Emergency food supplement for extremely poor and/or sick families. This is paired with an income generation project for able individuals.
Project: MATSETSA SOUP KITCHEN AND GARDEN
In 2016 Dr Maithri Goonetilleke, PDI’s Founder, visited Matsetsa, a community severely afflicted by drought, malnutrition and poverty. There, he witnessed some of the harshest conditions in his ten years of work in Swaziland. In conjunction with our Swazi team, PDI ran a successful crowdfunding campaign to establish a soup kitchen in Matsetsa.
The Matsetsa Soup Kitchen Project has been in operation since 2017. Led by the Matsetsa Community Champion, the soup kitchen is staffed by volunteers from the community. Every weekday, they prepare and distribute meals to 50 impoverished elderly people. During 2017, this equated to approximately 12 000 meals.
While it may have begun as a feeding centre, the soup kitchen has become a community hub that draws people together and provides a space for women to collaborate. Elderly men and women take turns to collect firewood and have cultivated a vegetable garden, with the nutritious vegetables being used for meals.
Project: HOUSING
Our housing project provides permanent, secure housing for vulnerable elderly people, women and children orphaned by AIDS. Each home built represents a place to study, cook meals and sleep, protected from harsh weather and danger. This project employs local Swazis and involves the family every step of the way. Once the house is completed, a small traditional ceremony celebrates this achievement, and symbolises a hope for a more secure future.
Project: EMERGENCY MEDICAL FUND
Emergency transport to hospital, medical treatment and admission for very sick and/or poor patients. This program is delivered in partnership with Good Shepherd Hospital.
Project: MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH FUND
Emergency hospital admission and feeding for severely malnourished infants. This program is delivered in partnership with Good Shepherd Hospital.
