Dear Ladles Supporter
This week we bring you good news from the Ladles of Love team in Gauteng. In the midst of our Mandela Day event pre-production, we managed secure a new warehouse in Midrand to facilitate the exciting expansion regionally of our preschool nutrition programme, Nourish Our Children.
Meet Karmani Naidoo, our new Gauteng-based Strategic Partnership Specialist, who shares her take on Trusting the Magic of New Beginnings…
Danny with Ladles of Love team and Karmani ( second from the left ) at Mandela Day Hands-On Events 2026 Johannesburg Expo Centre.
“There is something wonderfully symbolic about moving into a new space. It’s not always glamorous. There is dust in the air, endless boxes to unpack, shelves to build, donations to sort and countless decisions about where everything belongs. Every item needs a home in our well-organised warehouse before it can go on to serve someone else’s home. But beneath the dust is something far more meaningful a renewed sense of purpose and possibility.
We are incredibly proud to welcome Ladles of Love Johannesburg into our brand-new warehouse, and the team is already hard at work making this space our own.
Because the truth is, this is so much more than a warehouse.
It is a physical reflection of what happens when people come together around a shared purpose. We saw that spirit come alive so beautifully at Johannesburg Expo Centre on Mandela Day, when corporate citizens stepped away from their desks and showed up with their hands, their hearts and their time. Together, they MADE nutritious food packs, CREATED educational resources, CRAFTED handmade toys and GREW edible gardens, turning a day of volunteering into something tangible that will continue to make a difference long after the day itself.
That is the magic of purpose-led partnerships.
And as we move into Women’s Month, we are reminded once again that some of the most powerful changemakers in our Nourish Our Children programme are the women leading ECD centres in communities every day.
Our principals are so much more than educators. They are community anchors, caregivers, leaders and advocates for the children entrusted to them. Through Nourish Our Children, we work alongside principals, teachers, carers and cooks to build knowledge, confidence and practical skills around nutrition, food safety, leadership, governance and sustainable centre management. And this Women’s Month, we are celebrating these extraordinary people through our Heroes of Hope Excellence Awards recognising exceptional leadership, resilience and community impact across our preschool network.
It feels particularly fitting, that our Johannesburg team is also beginning a new chapter. With this new space comes something incredibly valuable; room to grow.
Room for more ECD centres to come on board.
Room for more children to be nourished.
Room for more principals to be supported and celebrated.
Room for more volunteers to roll up their sleeves.
And room for more organisations to step forward and say, “How can we be part of this?”. Because we know we cannot do this work alone.
So, as we unpack the boxes, build the shelves and settle into our new home, we are also opening the doors to new relationships and new possibilities.
If your organisation is looking for a meaningful way to engage your people, invest in communities, support ECDs and children, or build a purpose-led partnership with Ladles of Love, I would love to hear from you on karmani@ladlesoflove.org.za”
Thank you Karmani, we wish you good luck in your new role and thank you to all of you, who through your support and kindness, have enabled our expansion. It has been a huge leap of faith for us to commit to a bigger space but expanding has meant that we are already onboarding new preschools and making the circle of children we nourish bigger.
With our gratitude and appreciation,
Danny and the Ladles of Love team.
