Feeding program launched to benefit local learners
The Niya Foundation and pharmaceutical company Bayer have teamed up to create a nutrition program with the goal of providing children with nourishing food in schools and early childhood development facilities.
A nutrition programme aimed at securing nutritious food for learners was launched at Bonwelong Primary School in Ivory Park on November 30.
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The school is one of the first 23 schools where the project will be implemented over the next 12 months.
Like many communities in South Africa, people in Thembisa struggle with the triple burden of poverty, hunger and malnutrition, according to Devon de Sousa, the HR and legal director of The Niya Foundation.
Sousa said the foundation is thrilled to have partnered with Bayer. This initiative aligns well with Bayer’s vision of health for all and hunger for none.
“We have engaged with each school and did profiles and a baseline study on each of them.
“We are well versed in terms of the size of each school and what their capability might be, the resources available as well as the impact this project will have in each area,” De Sousa said.
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“The aim is to impact 4 200 beneficiaries over the next 12 months and we are confident that we will achieve this and more,” De Sousa said.
“We firmly believe with our partners, we can make a massive impact for the beneficiaries – the children, the teachers and the parents”.
Another aspect of this initiative is that once the Niya Foundation leaves to move on to the next school, the schools will not be left alone but will be fully self-sustainable.
“This is why Bayer is such a great partner. They don’t just start a project and leave. They are in it for the long haul, and we love their passion,” he added.
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Together Bayer and The Niya Foundation aimed to set up 23 gardens at schools and centres in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
The organisations will also be upskilling and empowering the teachers and staff at these schools to provide meals for the children.
Each of the 23 schools averages between 300 and 1 000 students.
Headquartered in KwaZulu-Natal, The Niya Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation, which equips South African Youth and women with agricultural and business skills, empowering them to ignite lifelong and successful careers.
This initiative is part of a wider agriculture-nutrition and entrepreneurship programme rolled out in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, to provide nutrition to children and the wider community.
“Bayer is committed to making a positive contribution to society.
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“As a leader in health and nutrition, our vision is to benefit people and improve their quality of life.
“We are excited about this partnership with The Niya Foundation to not only provide children with nutritious meals but to teach the children, teachers, parents and the community how to become more sustainable by growing and preparing their own nutritious food”, says Parusha Pillay, BBBEE manager at Bayer.
The end goal of this project is for these gardens to also earn an income for the schools, with the surplus product, post the required consumption, being sold for the school or centre to purchase additional resources or the project’s expansion.
With Niya being Swahili in origin and meaning ‘purpose’ and ‘radiance’, the Niya Foundation believes there are no limits to what can be achieved.
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