As inVOYAGE in Cape Town approaches, we talk with Antoinette Du Preez, Account Manager of Dragonfly Africa and Dayne Myles, Regional Manager of Rise Against Hunger Africa about our programme and decision to tie-up with the African children’s charity...

inVOYAGE: Thank you for joining us Antoinette, can you believe it’s only 5 weeks to go until we welcome our inVOYAGERs to Cape Town! Now, I know you have some real treats in store for our delegates when they arrive, but without spoiling the surprise too much could you share with our readers the story behind the activity you are curating for our third day here in Cape Town?

Antoinette, Dragonfly Africa: The time is just flying by! At Dragonfly Africa and Green Route Africa we have always tried give back as much as possible in our corporate incentives. By creating opportunities for incentive groups to participate in CSR (corporate social responsibility) programmes we can create awareness amongst our international guests, and we’ve found this really helps in creating long-lasting and impactful experiences.

In terms of one of the activities we have planned for inVOYAGE Cape Town, our initial thinking was around sustainability, but having seen the challenges our country is facing with hunger, we knew this is where we needed to turn our attention and the team at inVOYAGE immediately got behind this as a way to make a difference.

Rise Against Hunger Africa is the charity we wanted to support as they’re a 100% sustainable charity that focuses its efforts on volunteer-based meal packaging – to provide fully balanced meals for pre-school children and restore hope for those going hungry. It’s a truly incredible programme and makes for a wonderful team-based group activity as you all come together to form production lines to pack, weigh, seal, level and count the ingredients.

So, what have we got planned for inVOYAGE? During the event we will be challenging all inVOYAGERS to pack 27,000 meals in 67 minutes which, if we manage to meet, will be able to feed just over 87 children a year, 5 meals a week – a truly incredible feat!

inVOYAGE: Absolutely! It’s a topic that’s close to all our hearts and a really wonderful opportunity to bring our inVOYAGE community together to help give back to those who need it most. Now, I know a lot of thought has gone into the numbers you’ve picked for our packing activity. Could you explain that a bit more Antoinette?  

Antoinette, Dragonfly Africa: Yes of course. Mandela Day is traditionally on the 18th of July and is recognised globally as a day to spend 67 minutes of your time (in memory of the 67 years Nelson Mandela served to the public) to give back to someone in need. With the inVOYAGE event happening just before Mandela Day, we thought it would be a great chance to incorporate this into our programme so we can all give a portion of our time. The 27,00 meals represents the 27 years that Nelson Mandela spent in prison and the 67-minute target falls in line with Mandela Day to commemorate the 67 years Nelson Mandela served to the public.

inVOYAGE: What better way for us to remember our time here in South Africa than by celebrating the man who helped make it the country it is today and giving back to the communities who need it most.

Dayne, I know you’ve been working behind the scenes to help make this project happen. Could you tell us a bit more about Rise Against Hunger, your mission, and how your work helps make a difference to the lives of those children?

Dayne, Rise Against Hunger: Rise Against Hungers’ focus is to reach the most vulnerable: hungry children – and specifically those who attend pre-schools, or Early Childhood Development. Everyone around the world has the right to good nutrition and to live his or her life to their full potential. Through the provision of our meal packages, we strive to make a global impact on hunger by building resilience, self-sufficiency and empowerment among the communities we work in and with. According to the University of Cape Town’s Children’s Institute, over 3 million children under the age of 17 are food insecure. Together we can help make a real difference and bring that number down.

inVOYAGE: Thank you both so much for your time, we’re delighted to be working with you on this project and we’re so thankful for all you’ve been doing behind the scenes to help launch it off the ground. It really is a special opportunity to give back and help make a difference here in Cape Town.