The Ebongalethu Educare Center is a home-based preschool in Motherwell, South Africa, a very large township on the outskirts of the city. 61 year old Gladys Zenani is the lady who runs this center.
The children Gladys looks after all live in a very impoverished area; most stay with Gladys from 5:30AM to 5:30PM, as their parents need to catch buses and taxis to get into the city to work or look for work. Some parents pay Gladys about $8 per month and some don’t pay. Gladys has created a living for herself by caring for and teaching these little ones, as well as provide work for the 3 ladies who help her– Fiziwe Majola, Nomfundo Minnie, and Sibongile Mpupa.
I am partnering up with Food4Africa & Miracle Meal Trust’s “Lotsa Love for Tots” initiative, to provide nutritional porridge for the children at the Ebongalethu Educare Center. The nutritional porridge consists of cooked maize, soy, 26 vitamins, minerals and amino acids, carbohydrates, fiber, and cereal fats that work to maximize nutrient intake on a daily basis. The porridge has the nutitional density 29 times that of refined maize which is the staple diet in rural Africa.
The children get breakfast and lunch at the center and may have nothing else to eat for the rest of the day. That is why it is so important that the meals they do receive are full of nutrients. Providing the proper nutrition at this young age is crucial to their development and gives them a good start in life.
I have had the privilege of spending time with the Food4Africa team in South Africa and now to work with Cindy from Miracle Meal Trust! Their mission to feed rural poverty-stricken children of South Africa and ensure that they have an opportunity to survive and develop healthy bodies and minds has become very close to my heart.
100% of the funds raised goes to the food the children will eat.
If we are able to surpass the goal and secure food for an entire year, the additional funds will go towards:
-
First Aid kitFulfilled in March! - Educational toys and teaching aides
- Mattresses
- Blankets
- Carpets and flooring (as the little ones have a nap in the afternoon)
Learn more about Food4Africa at www.Food4Africa.org
Learn more about Miracle Meals Trust at MiracleMeals.co.za
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FABULOUS! This is such a worthy and amazing cause with long-lasting benefits…
kudos to this project and all the work you, Gladys,Fiziwe Majola, Nomfundo Minnie, and Sibongile Mpupa do!!
Wow! This is so awesome that you are doing this. Already added you to my blog roll