Key takeaways:

  • We Can Initiative Launch: We Can was launched just before South Africa’s COVID-19 lockdown to enable South Africans to support communities in need through simple, affordable donations.
  • Successful Donations: Since its launch, We Can has collected and donated over 46,000 kg of food, providing about 170,000 meals to communities in Gauteng and Limpopo.
  • Kameeldrift Primary School & Local Community: Kameeldrift Primary School, with 700 pupils, is a key beneficiary. Due to the lockdown, over 400 families in the surrounding community rely on food donations for survival.
  • SHOP4 Heroes Expansion: We Can has expanded with a second initiative, SHOP4 Heroes, allowing people to shop for food parcels for beneficiaries at any time, addressing ongoing needs in multiple communities.
  • Partnership with Atterbury Trust: The Atterbury Trust and Power of Co have partnered with We Can to expand its reach, raising funds and resources for more communities across South Africa.
We Can Initiative Launch: We Can was launched just before South Africa’s COVID-19 lockdown to enable South Africans to support communities in need through simple, affordable donations.
Successful Donations: Since its launch, We Can has collected and donated over 46,000 kg of food, providing about 170,000 meals to communities in Gauteng and Limpopo.
Kameeldrift Primary School & Local Community: Kameeldrift Primary School, with 700 pupils, is a key beneficiary. Due to the lockdown, over 400 families in the surrounding community rely on food donations for survival.
SHOP4 Heroes Expansion: We Can has expanded with a second initiative, SHOP4 Heroes, allowing people to shop for food parcels for beneficiaries at any time, addressing ongoing needs in multiple communities.
Partnership with Atterbury Trust: The Atterbury Trust and Power of Co have partnered with We Can to expand its reach, raising funds and resources for more communities across South Africa.
We Can is an initiative that launched on the day before the national COVID-19 lockdown began in South Africa. This organisation enables passionate South Africans to make a positive long-term impact in addressing the challenges in needy communities, simply and within their own financial means.
Since the online platform went live earlier this year, the We Can community has successfully collected and donated more than 46 000 kg worth of food in more than 30 separate projects. The 46+ ton of food has provided approximately 170 000 meals to various We Can beneficiaries in Gauteng and Limpopo. However, with the extended lockdown period, the number of people in need is increasing daily.
Kameeldrift Primary School is a beneficiary of the Atterbury Trust and its surrounding residents are one of the communities that have been deeply affected by the lockdown. The circumstances in this community are generally challenging. Most of the 700 pupils in the school rely on the two meals a day they receive from the school. But over the past few weeks, the lockdown has made life in this community particularly tough. The need has become severe, with more than 400 families depending on donations for their daily sustenance.
Now We Can is tackling the Kameeldrift challenge too. We Can aims to provide each Kameeldrift family with items such as fresh vegetables, meat, soup, flour, oil and peanut butter to help address their food shortages. The public can purchase these products online on behalf of the families of Kameeldrift. We Can will in turn provide the food to the school for distribution within this community.
You can now buy food for Kameeldrift here: https://wecansa.co.za/shop4-heroes/laerskool-kameeldrift/
We Can obtains nutritious food items for its projects at the best possible prices from food producers and suppliers across South Africa. The good prices from food producers and suppliers, as well as each individual or company donation, contribute to a sustainable model that ensures the continuous support of We Can beneficiaries. Without the help of the public, this initiative wouldn’t be possible. “This model works very well because we address each beneficiary’s specific needs with food obtained at prices that add more value to every cent,” says Francois Mouton, founder and CEO of We Can.
We Can currently comprises two initiatives – LIVE challenges and SHOP4 Heroes. It is building on the success of its LIVE challenges where We Can tackles one project at a time. The LIVE challenges seek to collect specific amounts of food items on behalf of a particular We Can beneficiary, or hero, within a few days. Once the online public purchases reach the target, the products are given to the We Can beneficiary organisation to distribute to the people in their care.
However, it has become clear that the need is too great to support only one We Can beneficiary at a time and the initiative is now being expanded with a second initiative called, SHOP4 Heroes. This online store allows people to shop for their chosen We Can hero at any time of the month according to a specific list, which includes the suitable quantities required for beneficiaries’ food parcels.
The We Can beneficiaries care for the vulnerable in our country, and We Can wants to enable them to continue the good work they do every day. That’s why Power of Co and Atterbury Trust have now joined forces to expand We Can’s impact further and reach more communities across South Africa on a new online platform at https://wecanSA.co.za/
According to Zahn Hulme, executive trustee of the Atterbury Trust, they are very excited to be part of We Can and believe that this organisation enables individuals and companies to make a difference in a simple way, no matter how big or small the contribution. “We Can is a transparent platform that responsibly utilises donor funds to assist communities in need. The first joint initiative aimed to obtain 400 food parcel combos for Laerskool Kameeldrift. We are pleased to announce that this first project was over-subscribed and we managed to sell 544 combos as well as receiving two additional monetary pledges and a substantial donation of clothes, blankets and extra food from private individuals for the Kameeldrift community. We trust that this initiative will go from strength to strength.”
The We Can website, www.wecanSA.co.za, offers easy access to a Payfast payment system that also works on smartphones, enabling all South Africans as well as people around the world to make a difference in the lives of needy South Africans. #WeCan

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the “We Can” initiative and how does it support needy communities?

We Can is an online platform launched during the COVID-19 lockdown that allows the public to purchase nutritious food items for specific beneficiaries at discounted producer prices.

Why was Kameeldrift Primary School selected as a key beneficiary for this relief project?

The school has 700 pupils who mostly rely on school meals, and the lockdown left over 400 families in the surrounding Kameeldrift community in desperate need of food donations for survival.

What was the result of the first joint initiative between Atterbury Trust and We Can?

The project was highly successful and over-subscribed, resulting in the sale of 544 food parcel combos for Laerskool Kameeldrift along with additional donations of clothes and blankets.