Food and shelter are fundamental to human survival but, tragically, the World Food Programme estimates that more than 333 million people face acute levels of food insecurity in 2023. Sadly, COVID has contributed significantly to the number of people and communities going hungry across the world: this number represents a rise of almost 200 million people compared to the pre-pandemic levels. I believe we can all do our part - whether large or small - to help bring these numbers down.
Food for Ikaria Island
The tiny Greek island of Ikaria is one of the world’s so-called “blue zones,” geographic areas where the residents live longer than average, and are often healthier and happier. During COVID-19 lockdown, when tourism to the island ground to a halt, many of the residents of Ikaria found themselves facing significant financial hardship and many struggled to put food on the table or access basic, essential goods and services. With no access to pensions, COVID payments, or assistance, the residents of this tiny island faced unprecedented difficulties.
I have family living on Ikaria and when I learned of the hardships they were experiencing, my wife Jaqui and I knew we had to act. We partnered with a group of four younger (aged 30 to 50) locals on the island who had cars: Jacqui and I purchased essential groceries and pantry supplies such as milk, vegetables, meat, pasta, rice, coffee, biscuits and bread, and the young men loaded them into their cars and distributed them all over the island. As many residents were also experiencing severe financial hardship, we were also able to arrange for the same group to hand out financial grants to those who had had their electricity and utilities cut off. On Sundays, we paid the local bakeries to supply free bread and pastries at the churches for everyone to access them.
The business success of GJK Facility Services made it possible for my wife and I to support the residents of this tiny island when they were facing enormous need, and I am thankful once again for the opportunities this business has provided me with to give back to my community.
The Hunger Project
Kaye Jowett is the CFO at GJK Facility Services and, I am proud to share that Kaye also volunteers her time on the Victorian Development Board of The Hunger Project Australia.
The Hunger Project’s goal is to end world hunger by 2030. Through programs such as education, microfinance, agriculture and health, they empower people with the skills, knowledge and resources they need to break the poverty cycle themselves.
I became involved in The Hunger Project in 2015, and GJK Facility Services committed to help raise funds for the Bougue Epicentre in 2017. Through fundraising events such as raffles, lunches and some employees making regularly donations through their pay, we meet our target, raising over $40,000 over the past 3 and half years.
To put this into perspective, every $2 we gave feeds a family in a third world country for a month.
Our employees have had a lasting impact on helping children born into poverty to receive food, medicine, education and so much more. Today, GJK Facility Services is proud to support Kaye and the work she is doing for The Hunger Project, providing her with time off to attend meetings, supporting her fundraising efforts, and enabling her to travel to the communities supported by this excellent initiative.
Currently Kaye is raising $10,000 to support women in Malawi. She says, “A donation of $60 could provide a microfinance loan for a budding female entrepreneur in Malawi. This is enough to purchase a pig to farm or to start a business in sewing or hairdressing to bring in a sustainable income for their family.” I want to congratulate Kaye on her compassion and dedication to this important initiative.