This has been a purposeful week for us at Ladles of Love! Monday was Earth Day, and for us it was time to reflect on our Feed the Soil programme in Cape Town and here thanks to you our supporters, are some staggering statistics!
In just over 2 years Feed the Soil has 600 active members who collected food waste weighing 132 584 kilograms converted and paid forward 11 033 bags of compost to 95 urban farmers from whom we procured 79 000 kilograms of fresh produce which was in turn sold to our members and donated to our community soup kitchens.
From the planet to people – Tuesday was World Book Day and together with our CSI partners, Coronation Fund Managers, we went on a special ‘feeding and reading’ mission to visit children and teachers at the Early Childhood Development Centres we support in the Northern Cape, Western Cape and Gauteng.
To quote Mary Mogano from Bakgalaka Day Care in Alexandra: “Over the last 25 years, I have developed a Police Officer, a nurse, I develop two teachers and also a Contractor. They all grew up at me and all of them do come back still to see me. And they give me power, because if I did it for them, I could do it for these children also. The books are going to help us help the ones who are going to Grade R – and they can recognize the different languages. When we read to the children in different languages, they will catch up and make a better future for tomorrow.”
Petronella Mkobe from Coronation who was with Mary shared her feelings: Impact, Impact, Impact! I feel privileged to be here, it brings back childhood memories and when I look at these children, I actually see the future as I know first-hand what education can actually do for you. So it starts literally by just reading a book.”
From Kids Kingdom Educare in Kagungu area Northern Cape principal Vanessa and Emson our Ladles of Love regional manager agreed: “The books are going to make a huge impact in the lives of our little learners, as according to StatsSA the area has a 6.1% literacy rate. Education is the tool which can be used to change lives.”
What a week to call it a wrap on our Love Books campaign, which has resulted in 750 children receiving meals for a month and due to the generosity of our sponsors a further 2,500 books were donated. This means all children aged 5-6 years old in our Nourish Our Children programme will have a book to read. How amazing is that?!
Now it’s time to focus on funds for food, as every day is a battle for us to afford to feed over 5,000 small children. Please help us share our story as the truth is, monthly donations in whatever denominations are what we need desperately to sustain our nutrition programme.
We are only able to do what we do because of you and your support.
With our gratitude and appreciation always.
Danny & the entire team at Ladles of Love ❤️
