For most, the school holidays are a time of relaxation and good cheer, with parents dutifully picking up trails of action figures and video game covers – anything is a pleasure when you’re trying to muffle the sound of pre-teen giggles and a roaring TV set. Vacation time is a bit different for the children of the Klawer community. While life is simple in the rural areas and the air is fresh, many of the children live in crime hot spots and are lucky to get just one meal while their parents are out earning a living. The day-to-day experience of this contrast can be quite jarring, which is why the women of the Klawer community, right on the doorstep of our wine cellar in Vredendal , have taken it upon themselves to raise the standard of living for their nearest and dearest.
With the help of these dedicated women, The Stellar Foundation managed to provide a total of 1785 home-cooked meals over a period of 8 days during the June/July school holidays. The Klawer community women work every school holiday without payment, a selfless labour which we admire and appreciate endlessly. This has been our third successful holiday feeding scheme, and we could never have come this far without the help of our dedicated volunteers, who fed an average of 200 mouths per day. We served beef stew, chicken curry and rice, carrot stew, macaroni and cheese as well as an assortment of fresh vegetables, much to the delight of our young friends.
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The energy injected into this project naturally propelled our thoughts to future initiatives as we couldn’t help but be inspired by the community’s zest for being as self-sufficient as they possibly can. The success of the feeding scheme has proven that the Klawer community women have the potential to expand their good will and hard work, and could potentially earn a parallel income by catering to neighbouring pensioners, organised activities in the area and perhaps even collaborating with various municipalities.
A small shift in energy is bound to have a knock-on effect in such a close-knit community, and it goes without saying that the children stand to benefit most. An undertaking as simple as feeding learners during school holidays has resulted in a significant – almost absolute – decline in child-perpetrated crime in the Klawer area; just one of the many benefits of this on-going initiative. What’s more, the possibilities appear to be endless. Will the triumph of these community women set the stage for a wave of entrepreneurial talent to sweep over the inhabitants of Klawer, urging them to adopt kind, sustainable means of providing for their families? However idealistic that may sound, we are absolutely certain of the fact that this project is an example of how a community can make a stand, taking responsibility for their own growth and well-being despite the socio-economic obstacles that may stand in their way.
We were blessed in that we received invaluable support from a number of sources. We would like to thank Matzikama Municipality for the building that they made available for our initiative. We also received many donations from local businesses and individuals in the form of money, vegetables or the gift of a pot of stew. We would never have been able to run this project without your contribution.
Anyone who is interested in donating can contact Irene Dell of the Stellar Foundation directly on 073 4711 261. The Stellar Foundation is a non-profit organisation formed by Stellar Winery that handles the financial aspects and manages the logistics of the project.
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