The DO MORE FOUNDATION feeds the future in Pongola

In October 2018, for 1 300 young children at 20 Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres in Pongola, the future started to look a little brighter thanks to the DO MORE FOUNDATION. From the beginning of November each child received a nutritious daily serving of Monati Instant Porridge and Yum Yum peanut butter at school, helping them grow and learn as they should.

Pongola was the newest location in the DO MORE FOUNDATION’s school feeding programme, which now eases hunger for 11 400 young children each day – 3 400 in ECD centres in Mpumalanga and KZN, and 8 000 in various SmartStart playgroups across South Africa.

“Our mission as the DO MORE FOUNDATION is to DO MORE to ease hunger, care for young children and support youth development – and this programme feeds into all three areas by allowing us to nurture our future generation of leaders,” says DO MORE FOUNDATION Executive Warren Farrer.

The Pongola ECD centres were identified through the Foundation’s corporate partner, RCL FOODS, which employs over 460 locals at its Pongola sugar mill and is passionate about DOING MORE for the local community. The centres are located across wards 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13 and 15 of Pongola (including Ncotshane Township and the areas of Lindelani, Magengeni, Mdonini, Madanini, Mphahleni and Msuzwaneni) and are all within 50km of the mill. Most are registered with the Department of Social Development (DSD) and receive a food subsidy as part of the National School Nutrition Programme.

“By helping feed the children in these centres, the DO MORE FOUNDATION is not only helping alleviate hunger but relieving the pressure on resources which can be used to enhance educational necessities like infrastructure maintenance, playgrounds and teaching materials. For those ECD centres that aren’t yet registered with the DSD, it’s a lifeline as they receive no subsidy for food – and you can’t teach hungry children,” says Farrer.