Turning 40, giving 40: Katlego’s birthday contribution gives our School Holiday Bucket campaign a head start.
40 years. 40 buckets. 40 families. That was Katlego Mabusela’s goal for his 40th birthday.
Instead of receiving gifts, he invited friends and connections to help put food on the tables of families struggling to afford enough to eat. They bought stocked grocery buckets, contributed money, shared his posts and encouraged others to participate. Together, they reached his 40for40 target.
Those 40 buckets are the first donation towards SA Harvest’s School Holidays Shouldn’t Mean Hunger campaign, giving us a head start in preparing support before school meals pause.
When school meals pause, households feel it
Around 9.4 million learners receive food through South Africa’s National School Nutrition Programme. Those meals are provided on school days. When the term ends, families who count on that support must find another way to put food on the table. For households already managing tight budgets, the holiday period can bring added pressure. Source: Department of Basic Education.
This is the gap our School Holiday Bucket campaign prepares for. We know when schools will close, so we can mobilise support, prepare buckets and coordinate distribution before the holidays begin.
Katlego’s contribution helps that preparation move forward.
He rallied his community. Now we carry it forward.
A radio host, portfolio entrepreneur, speaker and emotional intelligence coach, Katlego used his connections and professional work to support 40for40. He also offered credits against his speaking fees for qualifying corporate bookings that pledged stocked buckets.
Reaching his target brought another responsibility: finding the right partner to help the food reach families who needed it. Learning about our campaign and the work behind it led him to choose SA Harvest as his official distribution partner.
“We needed to make sure they reached people who genuinely need them,” he wrote when announcing the partnership.
Katlego and his supporters have done their part. Now it is our turn to make sure their contribution reaches families affected by the school holiday break.
Katlego Mabusela and his team with the SA Harvest team after touring our Johannesburg warehouse during the handover of his 40for40 bucket donation.
Our warehouse teams and drivers will coordinate storage and transport, while vetted, trusted beneficiary organisations help connect the buckets with households in the communities they already serve.
This is the system behind the contribution: the infrastructure, people and relationships that carry the generosity from donor to family. Katlego has entrusted us with that responsibility.
Estelle highlighted the gap. Katlego is helping us respond.
In December 2023, journalist Estelle Ellis drew attention to children in the Eastern Cape facing weeks without their usual school meals. Daily Maverick readers responded, and SA Harvest provided the infrastructure and community partnerships to help that support reach 1,702 families.
Our School Holiday Food Access Campaign carries that connection between attention and action forward. Katlego became aware of the campaign, rallied his community and planted its first seed with 40for40.
Estelle brought the need into view. Katlego is playing his part. Now you have the opportunity, and a practical way, to contribute.
What will you make possible this December?
As you plan your December celebrations, consider how you could help a family through the school holiday break.
R1,000 funds one School Holiday Bucket, designed to support four people for four weeks. Fund one bucket, contribute towards several or give any amount. Invite friends, family, colleagues or business connections to join you.
Packed with non-perishable food and personal hygiene essentials, Katlego’s 40for40 buckets will help ease the pressure on households when school meals pause.
A birthday, year-end gathering or workplace collection can become an opportunity to give together. Set a target, share the campaign and help fund the next buckets before the holidays begin.
Asked what he hopes will come from his relationship with SA Harvest, Katlego sees a lifelong commitment to supporting and amplifying our work. He hopes his 40 buckets will inspire others to contribute and rally their own connections, growing the response from 40 to thousands. Everyone can play a part, whether they fund 40 buckets or four. As he put it: “Four is more than one.”
Thank you, Katlego, and everyone who supported 40for40, for giving our campaign a head start and trusting us to carry your contribution to families.
The next contribution could begin with you.
Rally your connections. Fund a bucket. Help us prepare before school meals pause.