Learners at Elswood High School in Leonsdale received a completely revamped kitchen on Monday 21 November – thanks to GrandWest in association with the Peninsula School Feeding Association (PSFA).
The new kitchen makeover, valued at R200 000, is fitted with all the essentials for food preparation such as a stove, cooking utensils, plates and cutlery, as well as proper flooring, lockable doors and serving hatches, a sink, cupboards, shelves and safe plumbing and electrical outlets.
Over and above also providing basic ingredients for the meals, PSFA trains members of the community to prepare and serve the meals. In addition to the kitchen makeover, GrandWest is donating just under R93 000 to the PSFA to provide meal packs for 141 Elswood High School learners for a year and has committed to pay an allowance for a community volunteer to prepare the meals.
Speaking at the handover, GrandWest General Manager Mervyn Naidoo said; “GrandWest regularly invests in programmes that will give children the best possible educational advantages, but a key component of learning is nutrition. Without at least one good meal a day, any child will battle to concentrate and learning will become a struggle. We have a long association with the PSFA that we are proud of.”
Marlon Kiewiet, the principal at Elswood High School, said the school is very excited about the donation. The school never had a kitchen and used a classroom to cook in.
“It will give the cooking lady such a pleasure to be able to cook in a well-resourced kitchen.
“It is indeed a very special moment for the school and the community at large.”
About 75% of the learners at the school are dependent on the kitchen feeding scheme.
The school has 960 learners and about 700 are served on average and 320 on a day-to-day basis.
Kiewiet added that besides the kitchen, GrandWest also donated shades and benches where 36 to 40 children can sit down and enjoy their lunch.
Previously, learners had to seek alternative places to sit and eat or sit down during the break. According to Kiewiet, the school will monitor the spaces under the shades, to accommodate everyone.
What pleases Kiewiet the most is that the children can now proudly eat with dignity.
“For most of the learners, it is the only meal they receive,” Kiewiet said.
