Journey’s End Vineyards has launched The Journey’s End Foundation, the latest community project from the Stellenbosch based winery.

Set up as an NGO, Rollo Gabb, MD, and his team have established the Foundation to tackle hunger and extreme poverty in the Helderberg region of Stellenbosch – largely as a result of Covid-19.

The Journey’s End Foundation has set up a network of Soup Kitchens in the Helderberg Region and has initially committed to providing 8,000 meals per week, with a target of achieving 10,000 meals per week by the end of October 2020. 

Comments Rollo Gabb, “The South African economy continues to be very badly affected by COVID 19, with the Western Cape in particular hit by zero tourism and close to zero hospitality. This coupled with a recent ban on domestic wine sales has severely impacted the wine industry, and a 10 pm curfew is killing the restaurant sector, leading to a very significant increase in unemployment. With very little government support many families are now unable to bring any food to the table and starvation in the Cape is a real risk. It has been reported that some 20,000 people in Stellenbosch alone are at risk of hunger.

“We completed the set-up of the Journey’s End Foundation last month realising we needed to move fast. Journey’s End has committed funds to provide food for just over 400,000 meals through a network of nine Soup Kitchens over the coming 12 months.” 

For many years, Journey’s End has placed a big focus on supporting the winery’s local community, Sir Lowry’s Pass Village. As well as providing employment at the winery, the team works closely with community heads to channel resources into a number of development programmes which included the building of a new school hall for the local school in Sir Lowry’s Pass village.  This is where many of the local children received their only meal of the day. With schools currently shut these children are going hungry.

In setting up the Foundation, they have worked closely with Hettie Orffer, CEO and Developer of the ‘Beat the Bully’ programme – another programme funded exclusively by Journeys End, which focuses on eradicating bullying in the Cape townships through education and intervention.

For more details about The Journey’s End Foundation please email info@journeysend.co.za.

For more inspiration, make sure you subscribe to my monthly newsletter.

There’s nothing wrong with exploring touristy towns around South Africa. However, we tend to forget that we have unique lesser-known small towns worth exploring.

With the pandemic in full force, we all having to work from home.

The Western Cape is full of charming small towns that’s ideal for romance, embracing a slower pace of life with beautiful backdrops, quaint local stores and, architectural gems.

There are over 190 towns in the Western Cape but no one seems to know where Doring Baai; once a thriving fishing village.