By Kanina Foss

When Jenny Des-Fountain turned 50, she asked for food - lots of food. The birthday gifts she most desired were rice, tinned protein and cooking oil.

It wasn't that Jenny was hungry, but she knew some neighbours who were. It was while drinking wine and planning the guest list for her birthday party that the Johannesburg resident watched a news report on Zimbabwe.

Suddenly, a party didn't seem so important. What Jenny wanted was mealie meal. When she asked her friends to give her food for her birthday, she imagined she would collect enough to fill her boot.

But the thing with good ideas is that they have a way of getting bigger. What started as a boot of food might grow to a 4-ton truck-load.

Since featuring on radio, Jenny has been getting calls from South Africans and Zimbabweans from all walks of life.

"It has been amazing to realise how much people want to give, but they just don't know how," she said.

One Zimbabwean woman phoned from a callbox and took a taxi to Jenny's house to hand over a plastic bag containing two small packets of mealie meal and a can of tinned beans. Her son had died of cholera in Zim.

People deposited money into Jenny's account and offered to help with everything from crossing the border to packing the truck.

Still, Jenny didn't know what to do with the food. Then she was introduced to Thulani, a waiter in Rosebank, Joburg, and a Zimbabwean citizen.

Thulani, 31, told Jenny about conditions in his village, south of Bulawayo. The area has been one of the hardest hit.

"There is no food," he said.

"I don't have to talk about water, because that has been a problem for a long time. Right now, the main problem is food."

Next week, Jenny will be taking the food she has amassed to Thulani's village in a truck provided by Isuzu. The 4-ton truck is half-full, and she is appealing for another 2 tons of food.

In particular, she needs sugar; bottles of bleach or chlorine tablets for water purification; tin openers; water containers; and plenty of non-perishable food items.

For the children in the village, toys and books will also help to spread some hope and happiness.

Jenny is also appealing for a nurse or doctor to join the trip, and needs a second vehicle to transport about eight people.

Jenny and her friends intend to give ongoing assistance to the village. To contribute, contact 082-308-7181 or jenny@quantum-leap.co.za

• This article was originally published on page 6 of The Star on January 23, 2009

Published on the Web by IOL on 2009-01-23 01:25:00