#HashtagLunchbag in Joburg

Last weekend the American Consulate - Johannesburg brought the Hashtaglunchbag phenomenon to Johannesburg .. to Africa ... and to actually the first continent outside of North America.



Hashtaglunchbag is an organization with a vision to end world hunger. The concept is simple. They believe that through a lot of small actions and a lot of people you can accomplish big change. They started in California in 2012, without a real mission in mind, simply with a group of friends who wanted to make a difference. They got together, each donated $10, used that money to buy food and started making lunches. They captured the event on film and put it out on social media, without any real intent. But before long, they were contacted by others, who wanted to do a similar event; hence the birth of Hashtaglunchbag.

the US Consulate team in Joburg

Before the Joburg event, Hashtaglunchbag was in about 14 cities across the US and two cities in Canada, each started and run as an independent initiative. Some groups have monthly events, some quarterly, but all meet with the mission of feeding people and having fun while doing it. Hashtaglunchbag events create social platforms in which people can get together for a good cause while enjoying each others' company and have an immediate impact. Visit http://www.hashtaglunchbag.com and watch the video to learn more.

Team Zebra

The Johannesburg Consulate hosted more than 100 staff, friends, family members and contacts for their lunch packing event held in the Consulate atrium, where we made over 850 bagged lunches in about an hour. 

We then broke up into three groups of convoys who departed the Consulate to distribute the lunches to vulnerable children in three different Consulate-supported Community Grants projects in Alexandra and Soweto. The projects are part of The United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the U.S. Government’s initiative to help save the lives of those infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS around the world.

Ingrid and the Consul General address the crowd

Vince and I went to a community center and mission in Alex. Most of the children who come here have either been completely orphaned or are being raised by aunts or grannies or other extended family relatives. Many are HIV positive. 

The center is a model of urban renewal with a beautiful and flourishing community garden, a fully stocked lending library, a learning center, and a creative and expansive playground. This center is lucky to have a very spirited community leader at the helm, Ingrid, and the fundraising assistance of a local businessman and television personality. They have big plans for further expansion and I have no doubt they will accomplish every single one of them.

 
The event was captured in photo and video and was loaded onto the Mission's website and Facebook page, as well as onto the Hashtaglunchbag social media sites. The gauntlet has been thrown down, world. Hopefully the event will challenge other consulate posts to spread Hashtaglunchbag globally.