The donation was coupled by R86,000 worth of food vouchers to SCD and five other community-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) within the Uitenhage area.
The donation follows a funding injection amounting to R200,000 made by Sovereign Foods last month to seven NGOs, and which shows the company’s commitment to being good corporate citizen, explained Sovereign Foods’ group executive of human resources, Thuto Maepa.
At the handover held recently, SCD received 133 pairs of school shoes and R30,000 worth of food vouchers. The food vouchers will enable SCD to buy chicken supplies from the Sovereign Foods Factory Shop in Uitenhage.
SCD project manager, Siphokazi Dyongman, explained that the organisation offers social support services primarily targeted at families that depend on government’s social grant.
“With the food vouchers, we can include nutritious chicken products as part of our daily nutrition scheme in the coming months, and this will benefit more than 100 orphans and vulnerable youth, as well as HIV positive community members.
“Some of the learners that benefit from our organisation come from families that cannot even prioritise buying school shoes due the limited income in their households. The donation of school shoes coupled with access to daily meals should certainly boost the confidence of the learners and motivate them to attend school,” said Dyongman.
Sovereign Foods has also extended support to Rocklands Intermediate Farm School with a donation of 84 pairs of school shoes.
"Our learners were so overjoyed by the donation that they immediately wore their new school shoes. It’s safe to say that the contribution has raised their moral and this positively influences learners’ performance and school attendance,” said Rocklands’ Foundation phase teacher, Nothemba Msizi.
Food vouchers were also donated to Lukhanyiso Child and Youth Care Centre which operates a home for orphans and vulnerable youth (R30,000); Early Church Movement’s soup kitchen programme (R10,000); KwaNobuhle Victim Support Centre (R6,000); Joe Slovo-based community crèche, Zoey’s Little Lamp (R5,000) and Siyaphambili Primary School (R5,000).
“Education is the backbone of every successful individual. Hence, a key focus of the company’s corporate social responsibility programme is on ensuring that many more pupils in the region are able to focus on their studies rather than worry about what to eat and the lack of school attire,” ended Maepa.
