More than half of South Africa’s children continue to live below the poverty line, where poor dietary intake, food insecurity and poor quality of essential services prevail. According to UNICEF South Africa, chronic malnutrition is an underlying cause of half the childhood deaths in SA. Of those that survive, one in three are stunted due to malnutrition. As corporate South Africa, it is our duty to step up and assist.
On Friday, 9 September, JSE-listed REIT, Octodec Investments Limited, visited the ACFS Kagiso centre on the West Rand for the official opening of the NPO’s first vegetable garden where Octodec has provided much needed shade netting and water tanks to help ensure the success of the project.
The team were heartily welcomed with performances by the choir, gumboot dancers and drum majorettes from the youth development programme.
Support provided
This is the third community in which Octodec has assisted in making the food garden more sustainable by providing shade netting and water tanks.
Caregivers, grandmothers and other volunteers use the food from the communal vegetable gardens to prepare meals for the children. The centre also assists parents in growing their own vegetable gardens so that they can feed their own families.
Malnourished children and even those experiencing short-term hunger have limited capacities to learn. To mitigate this, the ACFS Kagiso Centre supports over 215 children from preschool to Grade 12 per day and reaches over 1200 people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the area.
The Kagiso Centre is also the first centre where Octodec sponsored the youth economic empowerment programme by supplying the necessary equipment and apparel for a band, choir and traditional dance groups, both male and female. The group of 67 girls and 32 boys involved perform and speak at schools in the area to promote and expand the initiative.
The NGO – African Children’s Feeding Scheme (“ACFS”)
As part of Octodec’s socio-economic development programme, they have identified NPOs that support underprivileged families and promote education. ACFS are championing this cause.
Established in 1945, the ACFS is a registered Non-Profit Organisation dedicated to developing and protecting children and their families by focussing on improving access to nutrition, health, early learning and stimulation, and skills development.
The Kagiso Centre is one of the nine community centres providing children with a meal after school and other programmes through the ACFS.
Why Octodec cares
School feeding programmes lead to greater enrolment in schools and improve the ability to learn. By preventing poverty in childhood, we can help prevent the reinforcement of poverty across generations.
As part of Octodec’s vision to ensure a positive impact on its communities and the environment in which it operates, supporting causes like the ACFS helps create a better social fabric for the communities within and around Octodec operating areas.
