Education and healthy nutrition are key to enabling children to participate in society. Sawabona Africa is supporting the Phakamani Young Minds Academy (PYMA) in Freedom Park, a township in South Africa, with a donation of almost €100,000.

Construction of a canteen kitchen and vegetable garden

The construction of a fully equipped canteen kitchen and vegetable garden will provide healthy food for 250 students and 20 staff members. In the future, the capacity can be expanded to serve a further 500 people. Approximately €56,000 has been budgeted for the construction, employment of two cooks and food for one year.

Educational equipment for 24 ECD centres for young children

Local Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres often lack educational materials. Books and educational toys will be purchased with a budget of approximately €16,000. These are important to support children in their early childhood development (fine motor skills, reading and math). More than 1,500 children in 24 ECD centres will benefit from improved equipment.

Quarterly workshops on sexual health

Gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy and a lack of knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases – workshops for students in grades seven to twelve address these common issues in South Africa. Working with an external workshop provider cost around €20,000. As part of the workshops, students have the opportunity to interact with social workers. They also receive a care package containing hygiene products and contraceptives.

“Many children and young people in Soweto are excluded from quality education,“ says Zilla Stekhoven, founder of Sawabona Africa e.V. “The donations that we now use in PYMA’s projects improve many of the conditions that determine learning success.”

“The construction of the kitchen is a very important milestone for us,” says Bokang Mokoena, founder and board member of PYMA. “We will be able to prepare healthy meals for 250 students and create jobs in our community.”