Celebrating project deliveries
Zilla Stekhoven : Founder of Sawabona Africa e.V.
It is a beautiful feeling when a year of hard work come together and we can celebrate our successes. It is certainly a first for me, that on one visit to South Africa, I am gifted with 2 launch celebrations in one week.
In this blog, I invite you to join me to celebrate the handover of two incredible projects with our partner organisations PYMA and Impande.
Major changes were on the agenda for our partner organization PYMA this year. A kitchen was to be built to provide the pupils and staff with fresh food every day. A real luxury for many of PYMA’s beneficiaries, as many families send their children to school with inadequate or no food, which leads to concentration problems and has a negative impact on learning and school success.
Once the excitement of the approval of the grant funding wears off, the real work to build the kitchen started. Everything was running smoothly until suddenly the neighboring building site announced they needed to lay their pipes through our land. After heated discussions and tears shed, eventually a commitment was reached to expedite the laying of pipes so we could continue. I could hear the shrieks of delight by the local project team when the truck rolled up with the kitchen components.
The kitchen is open
Along the way we bumped through gas compliance, water and sewerage connections, hiring a cook and planning a menu. Our brief was clear – school feeding guidelines to be followed, vegetables and healthy food should be served so learners would be nourished before they start their afterschool classes. For some children this is only nutritious meal of the day.
As soon as I arrived from Germany, I went directly to PYMA to see the kitchen with my own eyes for the first time. It was amazing. The vegetable garden at the back was not fully set up, but the spinach was flourishing. I was so curious what Princess the cook would serve. This was kept a secret although I kept trying to tease this information out of Winnie, the project manager.
The next morning on Saturday, we were back on site and the preparations were well under way. While the food was being prepared, the children were celebrating by dancing and singing. The joy of the staff in the kitchen to serve their first meal using the new equipment was palpable.
I had the chance to join the parents of the learners and other guests to participate in an art class. Speeches spoke of what the kitchen means for PYMA afternoon classes. One of the biggest challenges so far, was that learners came hungry after school and struggled to concentrate in class as they were hungry. This will now change.
The food was incredible. We were served vegetarian mince, butternut, rice, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach and beetroot. What a feast! Learners kept coming back for more and more.
A few days later I heard that learners came early to the academy in anticipation of their meal.
What will stay with me is the silence and pure enjoyment of everyone eating the food, it was nourishing and delicious. The children ate as much as adults or even more. This kitchen was launched just in time for the preparation for final exams of the year. Learning with a full stomach will make studying so much easier for learners.
The project does not stop here, continually training children on the need to eat nutritious food, trying to change eating habits and building up the own supply of the kitchen with vegetables from the garden does not happen overnight. But, how much easier is it when the nutritious food actually tastes that good and is not dependent on expensive ingredients.
Next stop after PYMA was Impande where I would be able to celebrate the opening of a Pre-School in Kwa-Zulu Natal.
A pre-school in Kwa-Zulu Natal
One of the biggest challenges in South Africa is the lack of or inadequacy of Early Childhood Development facilities. I wrote about this in earlier blogs. Our new partner charity, Impande is working at changing this. As a pilot for the Sawabona Africa on-boarding, I worked with donors in South Africa to build a new pre-school in Slindakuhle.
At my visit at the beginning of the year, the pre-school consisted of a corrugated sheeting shack, where children sat listless on the floor in a dark room, there were no playgrounds and only a pit toilet.
Thanks to the efficient infrastructure model of Impande. The time from the release of funds to completion took less than 6 months. The timing of my visit was perfect, as the classroom had now been completed. The pre-school, I learned, was the first to have pour-flush toilets integrated in the school building. A kitchen to prepare food, outside playground equipment and a covered balcony for outside activities completed the set up. The energy of the children had changed: They were engaged, had more energy. Their interaction with the teachers was more attentive and engaged.
In the opening speech, the school principal could hardly speak as she was so emotional. I was overwhelmed with feelings, too. We were able to enjoy time with children in the playground before setting off to visit new sites that require the same transformation.
With a new building, the work is not yet finished. Impande sends their staff to mentor, tutor and support the Slindakuhle pre-school. They will monitor and report the learning outcomes according to their impact goals.
I am super excited to be able to keep going back for more such launches as we collectively raise funds for many more such Pre-Schools with Impande.
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