Sasol In Society Report - Book - Page 46
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Year in Review: South Africa
Feature
Story
Our most recent
activities in ECD
Our response to hunger
in early learning
At the beginning of 2022, over 340 million
people around the world suffered severe
hunger. The United Nations marks 16 October
as World Hunger Day which reminds us that
our Early Childhood Development interventions
in nutrition and food security remain a critical
component for a child’s holistic development.
Without good nutrition, a child cannot play or
learn effectively and their cognitive, physical,
social and emotional development is impeded.
According to the 2020 Child Gauge report,
in South Africa, 27% of children are stunted,
meaning that these children will likely not
reach their full growth and developmental
potential because of the irreversible physical
and cognitive damage caused by persistent
nutritional deprivations.
In order to improve the quality of education
and to break the inter-generational cycle
of poverty – Early Childhood Development
(ECD) Centres must be strengthened to
provide a strong foundation for learning
and development. To achieve this, access to
adequate and consistent nutritional support is
crucial, which is why the Sasol ECD programme
has taken on different multiple interventions to
mitigate food and nutrition risks.
Sasol has provided nutritional support to
138 ECD Centres, benefiting 7 393 children in
KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Free State and
Limpopo, respectively. The nutrition programme
included nutritious breakfasts, lunches and the
establishment of food gardens.
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SASOL IN SOCIETY 2023
When the flood disaster struck in KwaZuluNatal, significant damage was caused and
some of the Centres we support were severely
affected. We immediately responded by
ensuring that over 27 ECD Centres teaching
1 323 children are provided with two meals
a day while they recover from the devastation
of the floods.
Most of these ECD Centres operate in
impoverished communities where the
unemployment rate is high. For this reason,
many parents rely on these Centres to provide
nutritious meals for their children. At Sasol, we
remain committed in striving for zero hunger in
our communities.
A notable outcome is the fact that some ECD
Centres are producing excess nutritious foods,
enabling them to sell some of the produce to
the community. Furthermore, practitioners who
have received training are now able to mentor
new practitioners, growing the capacity to
care for more children and open additional ECD
Centres. With more children having access to
ECD Centres, young mothers and caregivers are
able to participate in the economy while having
the peace of mind that their children
are safe and looked after.
Human dignity and self-worth are reinforced
through our ECD initiatives. The programmes
continue to expand, having cascaded benefits
beyond just the future of the children at
our Centres but expanding to the
surrounding communities.
For more information use this
QR Code or visit https://society.
sasol.com/world-food-day/
