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Peter Kerchhoff Memorial Forum |
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In honour of our founder Peter Kerchhoff, in 2009 we held first Peter Kerchhoff Memorial Forum with the theme “Poverty and Inequality: The New Apartheid”. This event was very well attended with good interaction between the panel and community. Considering this, we decided to make it an annual event. 
The second annual Peter Kerchhoff Memorial Forum will be held on the 16 September 2010 at 5.30 – 8 pm. Any suggestions for themes and support towards the costs are welcome. Consider the example of our pioneer Peter Kerchhoff who left a well paid job at Huletts Aluminum (now Hulamin) to work with the poor. The church venue on Peter Kerchhoff Street has been made available.
We need to share our past experiences if we wish others to learn from them. Share your experiences or learnings from working with Peter and PACSA as an organisation at any stage in the last 30 years that you think will be meaningful in helping PACSA shape its current and future work with our communities.
Contact Lou Levine at 033 3420052 or
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TEN years ago today Peter Kerchhoff died. He had been involved in an accident some days earlier. Driving on the N3, he had come across a fire which filled the road with thick smoke. He slowed down, as anyone would, and was hit in the rear. In hospital he seemed to be recovering and his friends visited him. Then suddenly he died of heart failure. His family, although alerted of the emergency, did not reach the hospital in time to say goodbye.
His death caused a shock to many people. He had become a significant figure on the Pietermaritzburg scene. At the funeral service for him, the Anglican Cathedral was filled to capacity by people of all races and from many walks of life. As the founder and co-ordinator - he didn't like the word "director" - of Pacsa (the Pietermaritzburg Agency for Christian Social Awareness) he had, together with others, performed many vital tasks, particularly in the crucial years 1980 to 1994, the years in which South Africa was transformed, slowly, painfully and often violently, from a repressive apartheid society to one that is more democratic and considerably less unjust.
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Lower food prices but not higher consumption |
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Hunger and malnutrition today are not caused by food shortage, or scarcity: hunger is an issue of access to food, to an adequate income, or to productive resources that allow poor people to either produce or buy enough food.[1]
Food is critical to our survival.[2] We need food to live but also to provide the energy to learn and work, perform our tasks efficiently and often also the occasion for social interaction. Conversely, a hungry person do not have the energy to learn, work, or even take part in the social, religious or political life because their attention is devoted to securing their next meal. Hunger and malnutrition are not merely symptoms of poverty but also a main cause of poverty as those who are suffer long-term hunger or malnutrition are most likely to get caught in a poverty trap. Getting sufficient nutritious food is therefore one of the main means to ensure our right to a life lived in dignity. For this reason access to food has been recognised as a basic human right in both international human rights law and the South African Constitution.
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