The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Nelson Mandela Foundation have partnered to support emergency food relief to South African communities through the foundation's Each 1 Feed 1 campaign.
The Each 1 Feed 1 campaign was recently launched by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Kolisi Foundation and the Imbumba Foundation.
More than 8 600 food packs have been distributed to date, reaching nearly 35 000 people across 44 communities.
The coronavirus pandemic has seen increased strain on national resources, which has resulted in food insecurity in South Africa.
The NBA has a long history with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, which spans for over 20 years and was a relationship formed by the late SA President.
"Through this initiative we are trying our best to insure that those who have help those who do not have. It is only through solidarity that we can win the battle against poverty and inequality," said Nelson Mandela Foundation CEO, Sello Hatang.
BAL President and NBA Africa MD, Amadou Gallo Fall said: "The Nelson Mandela Foundation has a track record of being really close to the community and we have a longstanding partnership. As this pandemic continues to bear issues related to hunger and malnutrition, we feel that following the lead of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, going to the communities to offer support, it's a natural thing for us."
In 1993, former NBA commissioner David Stern and a group of NBA players and legends met with Nelson Mandela during a dinner in Johannesburg as part of the league contingent’s trip to Kenya, Zaire and South Africa for several youth basketball clinics.
In August 1994, Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning, Patrick Ewing and other players, coaches and executives returned to South Africa for a second goodwill trip.
NBA players and legends regularly visited the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, Apartheid Museum and Robben Island as part of the annual Basketball Without Borders Africa camps hosted in South Africa 14 times since 2003.
The foundation was also one of the beneficiaries of three NBA Africa Games hosted in Johannesburg in 2015 and 2017, and in Pretoria in 2018.
The NBA has been in shutdown since March, when the coronavirus pandemic erupted across North America.
This year's NBA season resumes on 30 July with teams based in Orlando for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs.
The @nelsonmandela, @KolisiFdn, and Imbumba foundations, through #Each1Feed1, are empowering communities across SA. The NBA is proud to join the fight to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable families. To learn more, visit https://t.co/DRbmeJWjXC #NBATogether pic.twitter.com/8hZiJgFlIV
— NBA Africa (@NBA_Africa) July 14, 2020
- Compiled by Sport24 staff