Children feed their peers
Lesego Maja lesegomaja@caxton.co.za CHILDREN from the Johannesburg Mini Council (JMC) are collecting thousands of cans of tinned food for other less fortunate children. Johannesburg Mini Council is made up of 80 Mini Councillors (Grade 7s) from 40 primary schools in the greater Johannesburg area, some of which are from the Auckland Park Preparatory School, Greenside …
Lesego Maja
lesegomaja@caxton.co.za
CHILDREN from the Johannesburg Mini Council (JMC) are collecting thousands of cans of tinned food for other less fortunate children.
Johannesburg Mini Council is made up of 80 Mini Councillors (Grade 7s) from 40 primary schools in the greater Johannesburg area, some of which are from the Auckland Park Preparatory School, Greenside Primary School and Orban Private School.
The aim of the JMC is to empower young people and build leadership through community service.
Through the Kids CAN Feed Kids campaign, co-sponsored by Pick ‘n Pay, JMC has already collected more than 500 tins for the children at Elethu Themba School in Eikenhof, South of Johannesburg.
Claudia Landi (13), deputy chairperson of the special projects committee for Johannesburg Mini Council, explains: “We can’t wait for the holidays, but for these children it means no food while school is closed,” she said. “For many of these children the meals at school are the only time they get to eat. Being from child-headed households and coming from the poorest of the poor, they will eat on Friday at school, and then not again until they return to school on Monday. “
The tins will be used in the food packs, given to the children at the end of term, to help them through the December school holidays.
A further collection of cans will be donated to Mayibuye Primary School in Thembisa Township, which has over 1700 learners, many of them from disadvantaged backgrounds.
JMC’s big collection drive ends 29 October with the Kids CAN Feed Kids cooking competition. Teams of youngsters will cook at the Pick n Pay Good Food Studio from 4pm to 7pm for the coveted title of Kids CAN feed Kids best chef.
The food tins collected as “entry fees” will be donated to Just One Bag. Started by Jordan van der Walt two years ago, when he was just 12 years old, Just One Bag has raised over 100 tons of mielie meal and fed over 1 million hungry children.
Details: Avril Rebeck (JMC CEO) 011-485-4536, 082-852-5804, www.joburgminicouncil.co.za
