KFC has proudly come out in support of Christel House South Africa, a charitable school in Cape Town, by donating R110,000 to the school’s feeding programme. KFC’s Add Hope initiative combines its Corporate Social Responsibility funds with contributions of R2 from its many customers to provide nutritious meals to over 120 000 children around South Africa every year. The surprise donation was announced on the popular kykNET (DStv) show, Tussen Ons, and is a significant boost to Christel House’s school feeding programme.
More than 3 million children in South Africa experience chronic hunger every day. Whilst nutrition remains a national priority, there are still millions of children who start their school day without a nutritious breakfast or any guarantee of a wholesome meal for the day. Christel House South Africa provides free scholarships to 750 children (from grade R to 12) who come from twenty disadvantaged communities on the Cape Flats. The school’s mission is to break the cycle of poverty and build self-sufficient, contributing members of society through sound education, career minded subject choices and long-term support of the student. As part of its holistic education model, they provide each child with two nutritious meals and a snack daily. The school proudly boasts a 100% matric pass rate for the past 10 years and 96% of its graduates are either at tertiary education facilities or gainfully employed.
The school launched its ‘Feed a Future’ campaign in January 2019 to raise critical funding needed for its feeding programme. The school received a significant boost, when its Chief Executive Officer, Adri Marais, received a surprise donation on the set of the Tussen Ons television show (kykNET/DStv) from KFC. A cheque of R110,000 was presented by KFC Add Hope’s ambassador, Sinaziwe Ndlovu, in front of a live audience.
Before announcing the donation, Ndlovu, stated that Add Hope started supporting Christel House in 2018 and as an ambassador coming from the Add Hope background herself, she wanted to show how grateful she was for the work that Christel House does with young people in South Africa. She added, “We know we have future leaders and future presidents who are going to come from Christel House. Because of that, we want to support and encourage the work that you [Christel House] do”.
At a cost of just R20 per student per day, Christel House provides its students with two nutritious meals and snacks throughout the school day. Christel House is extremely thankful to KFC Add Hope for supporting its work with impoverished youth in Cape Town. The generous donation will ensure that its students receive the daily sustenance they need to grow and reach their fullest potential.
Tussen Ons video insert (courtesy of kykNET Argief): https://youtu.be/y6Mvuwn7Vdg
Christel House ‘Feed a Future’ campaign video: https://youtu.be/pbcivWAI-JU
Additional information:
Overview of Christel House South Africa
Christel House is a non-profit school with a single mission: to break the cycle of poverty. It operates eight schools globally of which the one in Ottery (Cape Town) is the only school in Africa. Christel House South Africa offers no-fee scholarships to students from some of Cape Town’s most impoverished communities and support them for 18 years with a fully serviced, holistic education. The school embeds strong character development ethics throughout its programme which are complemented by professional health care, nutritious meals, psychosocial counselling, family assistance and college and careers planning and support. Currently, the school enrolls 750 students from grade R to 12 and support more than 250 post-matric graduates through its College & Careers programme.
Christel House official video: https://youtu.be/sk5phgsiuW4
Chronic hunger amongst youth
More than 66 million primary school-age children attend classes hungry across the developing world, with 23 million in Africa alone. Chronic hunger and malnutrition can cause not only various long-term developmental defects like severe stunting, but it also has a debilitating effect on a child’s ability to concentrate in class and retain information. Ultimately, these health conditions have a devastating and permanent impact on their adult life affecting everything from their potential employability to their social behavior. In South Africa, 12% of children live in households where children go hungry and 17% of children under 10 years suffer from stunting. Achieving Zero Hunger by 2030 is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set out by the United Nations.