Nkomazi – Leave No Young Child Behind

RCL FOODS the DO MORE FOUNDATION is built on three pillars – DO MORE for Young Children, DO MORE to Ease Hunger and DO MORE to Support Youth. We believe that by focusing on these three pillars in all our projects we can “create better tomorrows” for the young children of South Africa.  

The collaborative ‘Leave No Young Child Behind’ initiative was established in 2015 to help drive a significant improvement in the wellbeing of young children in the two poorest wards of the Nkomazi municipality where our Malalane sugar mill is located. Its aim is to drive implementation of the ambitious 2015 National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy – which envisages every young South African child having access to key essential services by 2030 – through collaborative, multi-stakeholder, public-private partnerships.  

In 2019 an independent research report highlighted the role of this collaborative initiative in catalysing meaningful progress in 7 strategic service areas targeted by the National Integrated ECD Policy. This includes sponsoring training and supportive messaging; securing Wards 16 and 19 as a pilot site for the Grow Great Campaign’s Zero Stunting Initiative; securing Community Works Programme participants to facilitate an impactful parenting programme for the Department of Social Development (DSD); facilitating distribution of SASSA’s Zero Hunger food packs to malnourished children; facilitating applications for Child Support Grants; developing a Resource Directory and integrated referral system to help families access the required services for their young children; and most notably of all, driving a marked improvement in access to early learning programmes and facilities as well as improvements in the quality of the infrastructure and services offered. The report concluded that “while Leave No Young Child Behind is still a young partnership, it demonstrates the significant benefits for children when different stakeholders coordinate their efforts and gives life to the goals of the National Integrated ECD Policy”. 

Through initiative such as the Nkomazi-Leave No Young Child Behind we are able to give children back the future they deserve, by ensuring those at risk have access to proper nutrition and other essentials.