Collaborative Mandela Day initiative empowers ECD centres

In honour of Mandela Day, KAL Group employees in Gauteng and the Western Cape united for a meaningful initiative: packing meals in collaboration with Rise Against Hunger (RAH).

For the second consecutive year, the Group has supported this cause, assembling nutritious meal packs of enriched rice, soy protein, dried vegetables and essential vitamins. These meal packs are destined for young learners at preschools and Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres.

This year, the Group extended the initiative to include a greater number of employees and operating points, with meal-packing events being held in Centurion and Wellington. Employees and executive leadership teams from across the company, including Agrimark and The Fuel Company (TFC), participated. This collective effort resulted in the assembly of 40 176 meals, ensuring hundreds of learners will enjoy a daily meal at their schools.

“The severe winter weather has had a devastating impact on our communities, uprooting lives and causing widespread destruction. In these trying times, ECD centres provide a haven for our youngest and most vulnerable community members, ensuring they receive the care, nutrition and education they need. Our contribution is not just about immediate relief; it’s about investing in the resilience and future of our children,” says Xolisa Bangazi, Managing Director of TFC.

In many struggling communities, local ECD centres cannot access much needed government funding due to a financial inability to meet certain government and compliance regulations. These requirements typically relate to improvements such as adequate bathroom facilities and kitchen facilities in order to become compliant. This lack of resources prolongs a vicious cycle of non-compliance and nonfunding. The RAH meal programme allows these centres to save costs on food provision and redirect their available funds to required improvements.

“KAL Group and RAH share a commitment to poverty alleviation through systemic change and educational opportunities,” explains Tasneem. RAH conducts comprehensive gap analyses at non-compliant ECD centres, creates a compliance checklist, identifies improvement areas and develops a plan to address these gaps within a set period. During this time, RAH delivers meals packed by companies such as KAL Group, freeing up budget for the centres to implement their improvements, earn their compliance certification and get access to government funding programmes.

“Extending our initiative this year and deepening our partnership with Rise Against Hunger underscores our commitment to leaving our stakeholders better off,” says Tasneem. “The concept works on different levels: It’s a more sustainable approach to hunger relief, financial assistance and compliance. And secondly, the meal-packing events enable corporate teams to network and build team spirit whilst being active partners in social change."