Thembisa teacher spends holidays feeding hundreds of vulnerable children

A Thembisa teacher uses her school holidays to feed hundreds of vulnerable children from informal settlements and nearby schools, relying largely on her own funds and grocery donations from local supporters.

Holiday meals for children who miss school nutrition

According to The Citizen, Thembisa teacher and caregiver Hluphi Shili has dedicated her school holidays to ensuring vulnerable children in the community receive nutritious meals. The initiative primarily assists learners who have limited access to food during school holidays, rather than during the academic term when school nutrition programmes operate.

Scale and beneficiaries

According to The Citizen, the programme has grown significantly and now serves close to 300 to 400 children per day, and sometimes more because one child may bring multiple lunch boxes to be filled for siblings at home. Beneficiaries include children from informal settlements such as Emalahleni Coal Yard and Shalito, as well as learners from nearby schools in Ecaleni.

How the programme runs

According to The Citizen, Shili is the School-Based Support Team coordinator at Shukumani Primary School, where she is responsible for learners in need, disadvantaged learners, orphans, child-headed households and learners with behavioural problems. She said she keeps a list of learners identified by category to make it easier to support those in need, and that she works closely with social workers on cases involving children.

“I have a list of learners identified according to various categories, making it easier for me to support those in need. I work hand in glove with social workers, where we handle various cases involving children,”

Funding and community support

According to The Citizen, Shili funds much of the initiative herself while several community members and local businesses contribute groceries. She told the paper she prefers grocery donations to monetary gifts and has received support from two funeral undertaker managers in Thembisa, a man of God who is her relative, a young businessman who owns a tyre company, a lady from a local driving school and other community members.

Reach beyond Ward 4 and seasonal challenges

According to The Citizen, although the initiative mainly benefits children from Ward 4, learners from areas as far as eNdulwini and Phomolong also receive meals when they visit Ecaleni’s Ground 2 to play soccer. Shili acknowledged that winter brings extra challenges but said children remain enthusiastic about coming for porridge and lunch.

“Winter is indeed a challenge, but my kids are continuously energetic to come for their instant porridge for breakfast and their delicious lunch, irrespective of the cold weather, because they truly enjoy our food,”

Goal

According to The Citizen, Shili said her goal is to close the gap for children who do not have enough food during the school holidays while they benefit from the school nutrition programme during the school term.