Community news: Do More Foundation activates campaigns, beyond 2023 World Food Day, in ECD Centres in SA

The Do More Foundation (DMF) celebrated World Food Day on October 16, 2023, around South Africa, at 50 Early Childhood Centres [ECD]. A wide range of campaigns were initiated – including planting veggie gardens and installing JoJo tanks. But WFD is not about one day. The DMF has welcomed a new cohort of volunteers and sponsors – vital to its work – and invites others to get involved and to Do More- year round. Read on for more. Info as supplied:

DO MORE FOUNDATION  hosts successful 2023 World Food Day across 50 ECD Centres in SA

The DO MORE FOUNDATION (DMF) has enlisted employee volunteers to make a tangible difference that stretches further than World Food Day (Monday October 16).

With the theme ‘Water is Life, Water is Food, Leave No One Behind’, DMF launched its October plan of planting veggie gardens, making warm chicken meals and installing JoJo tanks at 50 Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres across the country last week.

“At RCL FOODS main office in Westville we hosted our national event, we had volunteers prepping nutritious meals for 10 ECD centres reaching 1,000 young children in the Chesterville Durban area with food sponsored by Sunshine Bakery, Rama and Rainbow Chicken,” said DMF Partnership Lead, Iris Naidoo.  This was one of 23 events taking place across South Africa.

“Thanks to the incredible support from  RCL FOODS, Chep, KFC, Pep Store, Rainbow, Sunbake, Sunshine Bakery, Rama, Vector, Jojo Tanks and Anchor Yeast, this campaign benefitted  over 6 500 young children at ECD centres in 7 provinces.”

According to Naidoo, the organisation is truly inspired by the assistance from volunteers and the support received from corporates, with a total of 500 volunteers joining the campaign across the country.

“We planted food gardens at each of these 50 centres, donated water tanks and provided agricultural training to the centres so that these gardens can become a sustainable food source for these centres in the future,” she said.

With the assistance of ‘DoMore Heroes’ (employee volunteers of RCL FOODS, Vector, Rainbow and Siqalo), the ECD centres who were impacted throughout this campaign were based in Linbro Park, Malelane, Midrand, Hammarsdale, Randfontein, Centurion, Westville, Benoni, Nelspruit, Pretoria West, Rustenburg, Tzaneen, Durban North, Pietermaritzburg, Bloemfontein, Wolwehoek, Worcester.

One of this year’s World Food Day activity beneficiaries is Sphiwo Educare in Kwazulu-Natal.

“Thank you to DO MORE FOUNDATION for recognizing our ECD Centre especially the donations of food, hose pipe, wheelbarrow, rake, mini gardening tools and four pockets of seeds. We are honoured that our ECD and impact on children is recognized by an organization like DMF,” shares Busi Aniva from Sphiwo Educare.

To date, DMF has launched various National Young Child programmes directed at improving nutrition, and early learning and providing parent/caregiver support across the country. The Foundation also facilitates several deep-rooted community-specific development projects to promote universal access to a comprehensive package of quality services to meet young children’s developmental rights and needs as outlined in the National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy and Nurturing Care framework.

ABOUT DO MORE FOUNDATION

The Do More Foundation was founded by RCL FOODS in 2017. They inspire more people and organisations to #DoMore for the young children of South Africa and facilitate meaningful collaborative partnerships by placing young children at the centre of the work they do.

For more info visit:  www.domore.org.za

✳ Featured image: The Do More Foundation (DMF) celebrated World Food Day on October 16, 2023, around South Africa, at 50 Early Childhood Centres [ECD]. Related coverage on TheCapeRobyn: https://thecaperobyn.co.za/community-news-do-more-foundation-celebrates-world-food-day-october-16-2023/