We feed them through schools, places of care, township ‘gogos’ (grannies who feed a small number of children in their immediate vicinity) and since the COVID19 lockdown, through soup kitchens. The largest number of feeding points is pre-schools, but we also feed at rural primary schools, one high school and couple of schools for children with special needs.
The delivery of the e’Pap and the monitoring of its usage is done by over ninety dedicated volunteers and a number of partner NGOs from the Garden Route area. Generally volunteers deliver once a fortnight and over time develop close and supportive relationships with the school principal and staff. They learn about other parts of South African society, they get to make abiding friendships with individuals from other groups and they learn the joy of loving their neighbour.
School principals and cooks from over a hundred schools and places of care take responsibility for preparing and serving the porridge each morning. The cooks are part of the local community and many of them know which children need that little bit extra.
We have storage and collection points in George (thanks to DataDot SA), two in Knysna (town and Leisure Isle) and Plettenberg Bay (thanks to St Thomas’s Methodist Church). Econocom, the supplier of e’Pap, delivers directly to these four stores from where volunteers distribute to the various feeding points.
Working hand in glove with established township partners and building a record of regular and sustainable supply, has been the foundation of our work.