I’m excited to share with you recent photos from The Ebongalethu Educare Center! For those of you who purchased and sent cards from the Valentine’s Day Cards For A Cause Campaign, this is the school you are supporting and the little ones you are providing meals for!
The EEC is located in Motherwell, South Africa (close to Port Elizabeth). This area is stricken by poverty and many of the children who go to the center have parents or guardians who need to go to surrounding cities to work / look for work. Although some of these boys and girls have already had a rough start in life, The EEC, run by Gladys (shown in the photo below) helps to ensure that these little ones are getting the proper nutrition, education, and care they need to continue to grow.
Your help and generosity is greatly appreciated- it makes a difference in the lives of each of these children you see, as well as their classmates who were not shown in these pics (hopefully you will meet them next time)!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
PS: You can learn more about The Ebongalethu Educare Center HERE and I’ve also written about how the donation / delivery process with the meals work at the bottom of this post.
Some of the children standing at the front of the school with Gladys. Some of the newer students who have not been there during a visit have never seen a camera before and are a little shy at first! Once they get used to Cindy and the team from Miracle Meals Trust, they become little hams :)
The little boy on the right is Aphelele, and he is 2 years old. His brother, Achumile who is 4 years old also goes to The EEC. Sadly their single mother passed away in January from cancer. Their Grandma is caring for them now but is having a hard time. Cindy is going to arrange to send them home with extra porridge to help, as well as clothing for the boys as they grow. Hopefully this in addition to being at the Educare Center will help their Grandma to care for them.
Good students working on drawings of houses, people, and cars!
Here is Gladys, one of the caretakers who help her, and some of the little boys who go to The EEC.
First National Bank donated lots of furniture that will be give to the different schools. Cindy brought The EEC’s items with her during this visit– they are looking forward to having new furniture that will be put to good use!
Cindy, Gladys, and some of the little ones! Many of them were not here during the last visit and was meeting Cindy and getting their photos taken for the first time! Which is why they look so serious! Cindy said usually by the second and third visit they remember her and love getting their photos snapped!
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In case this is the first time you have been involved or reading about this, this is how the donation / distribution works:
Food4Africa is a non-profit I met while in South Africa who provides meals for babies and children throughout different areas in the country affected by poverty. They created a nutritious porridge formula which they manufacture and have volunteers and partnering groups distribute. The EEC is one of the schools Food4Africa supports which is how I came to know about and sponsor them.
Once a campaign is complete, I make a credit card donation through the Food4Africa website to get the funds to them. This is quickest and easiest way to do it and incurs the least amount of fees. 100% of the donation goes to purchasing the porridge for the kids.
Then Cindy (she is also pictured below), who is from Miracle Meals Trust and is a partner of Food4Africa, picks up the packets of porridge and delivers it directly to the school. Cindy is also my contact person for The EEC and is the one sending me awesome emails with photos, updates, and stories!
Hopefully that all made sense and gives you an idea of how your purchase becomes a meal and gets from here to there!
The porridge that is provided consists of cooked maize, soy, 26 vitamins, minerals and amino acids, carbohydrates, fiber, and cereal fats that work to maximize nutrient intake on a daily basis. The porridge has the nutritional density 29 times that of refined maize which is the staple diet in rural Africa. It can easily be mixed with juice to make a yummy and healthy meal for little ones to enjoy and gobble up!
