Belgian students promote nutrition among kids in Komatipoort area
Through half a ton of special mealie pap making its way into the diet of children in and around Komatipoort, Basic Education for African Development (BEAD), a Belgian NPO, hopes to curb the consequences of stunted growth.
KOMATIPOORT – A 500-kilogram load of MixMe pap was recently delivered to seven Belgian students currently doing their internships at schools in the area.
BEAD aims to provide nutritional support for 200 children aged between six months and six years at schools in and around Komatipoort.
The organisation became involved with the area and its challenges when they started organising internships for Belgian students at Komati Care Centre, Kwetternes Preschool, Komatipoort Akademie and Cromati Combined School a couple of years ago. The internships proved successful and each group of students have made their special mark on the town and local residents.
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During their three-year bachelor programme in education, the students are required to do several internships, the last of which can be done abroad.
The current group arrived earlier this month and during their three months in the area, they need to teach in class and do various projects.
The seven students helping to roll out the nutritional program consists of four pre-primary school teachers from Belgium’s VIVES University College (Lara Staelens, Arancha Louwage, Robbe Baert and Sarah Macourt) and three primary school teachers from Thomas More University College (Marie Ghilain, Nathalie Wagemans and Jens Nieste).
Each group is required to submit a report of their experience and suggest ways in which the next group can make a positive impact on the community.
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BEAD became aware of the high rate of stunting in South Africa, with data indicating that one in four or about 27 per cent of children under five have stunted growth due to inadequate nutrition.
They decided to launch a pilot project by using MixMe, pap developed in the Netherlands by DSM, a world leader in special nutrition, and manufactured in South Africa.
This is the same kind of nutrition applied by the United Nations food programme in refugee camps.
The students will help monitor this programme for three months at Komati Care Centre, children under six at Lebombo School and five farm schools.
They will receive the pap three times a week at school and kitchen staff were trained to correctly dose and prepare it.
Children will be monitored regularly to report on the effect of the product.
According to Bert Driessen of BEAD, the aim is to supplement nutritional deficiency and is only a short-term solution. He stated that they will investigate and organise a more sustainable solution. They will also be meeting with Komatipoort Clinic staff to discuss Komatipoort specific situation in regards to stunted growth.
Although the Vives students have been in the area for less than a month, they’ve noticed that there is a big difference between some of the schools and a big gap between rich and poor.
The Thomas More students agreed that the gap between rich and poor is very obvious but stated that they love the “small and cosy village” and would love to visit Komatipoort in future. They stated that they were warned for their safety to not just go out for a walk and said that it was a pity.
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The students also mentioned that the lack of proper nutrition had made a big impression on them. They explained that most of the children they have seen do not eat healthy food and bring junk food or sweets to school. This does not give them the necessary nutrients to get rid of hunger and promote healthy development.
The group stated that due to the short time they are in the area, they need to work on strong, small projects that will leave a lasting impact. They plan to help farm schools organise classrooms by creating visual teaching aid and ensure children get enough exercise by organising a sports day or regular sports activities.
Driessen and his colleague Nancy van Wuytswinkel plan to visit Komatipoort in April for the annual evaluation and are working on plans for more projects to assist the local community.
