Green fingers in Diepsloot
DIEPSLOOT - The City Lodge Hotel Group and Food & Trees for Africa paid a special vegetable-and-fruit-tree-planting visit to the Mother Touch Academy in Diepsloot, to commemorate World Food Day which takes place around the globe on October 16.
Mother Touch Academy provides care and pre-schooling for 132 neighbourhood children less than one years old and up to six years old. It runs its own sustainable vegetable garden to assist in feeding the children.
The City Lodge Hotel Group made a donation of R81 000 to Food & Trees for Africa this year, some of which was channelled to Mother Touch for its fruit and vegetable growing activities. For World Food Day, 10 fruit trees were planted, along with herbs and seedlings for vegetables such as spinach, onions, tomatoes and green peppers.
“We have been associated with Food & Trees for Africa and Mother Touch for the past three years and this as an important corporate social investment project that is aiding children in the Diepsloot community,” said Peter Schoeman, divisional director, sales and marketing at City Lodge. Commenting on behalf of Food & Trees for Africa, Funboy Sebele added, “City Lodge chose Mother Touch as a project and we are very pleased to be involved with them in providing the resources and guidance for this garden. We are also involved in other projects with City Lodge in Atteridgeville and Mpumalanga.” Petrus Lyson, principal of the academy, said the garden produce not only goes towards feeding the children, but the surplus is given to parents who sometimes assist on the premises.
“We are very grateful to City Lodge and Food & Trees for Africa for assisting us. An important element of what we do is introducing the concept of sustainability, and land as the source of food, to Grade OO and Grade R children. Some of their play tools resemble garden tools to help get across the message,” he said.
