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Buffalo City learners dish it up for Mandela Day

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mandela day

20 July 2016, Buffalo City, Eastern Cape: Today, the Nestlé Healthy Kids Programme, in partnership with the Department of Basic Education (DBE), will host over 3200 learners from 11 schools in Mdantsane. The initiative is part of the International Mandela Day activities.

The celebration will take place at Londolozani Junior Primary School, where other invited Buffalo City district of education schools will join the activities. These schools include Dickson Dyani, Zuzile, Isibane, Gcobani, Thembeka, Nokulunga, Fikile Gaushe, Luzuko, Shad Mashologu and Fikile Bengu Primary Schools.

In commemoration of the International Mandela Day, over 100 DBE, Nestlé East London factory volunteers and educators from the 11 schools will pledge their 67 Minutes by facilitating different sports clinics for the learners. In accordance with the DBE’s Nutrition Education Programme, all activities will be supported by information sharing sessions and discussions about good nutrition, which are typically facilitated through a learner-tailored workbook and forms part of primary school curriculum.

The Nestlé Healthy Kids Programme is designed to include a Chef’s demonstration where a trained chef and food handlers teach the learners about different food groups and how they should be prepared in order to preserve their nutrients which the body needs to be healthy and strong. The learners are also taught about the importance of drinking enough clean water, managing food portions and making sure that their utensils are clean at all times when they are preparing food. Finally, the learners take part in mass participation physical activity demonstrations which include basketball, volleyball, soccer, netball, hoola hoop, running and skipping rope.

“Mandela Day is a perfect platform to galvanise support for all our communities and at Nestle we are pleased to be celebrating this global event with the learners of Mdantsane. We believe that when children eat well and take part in physical activities, they tend to do well in school and ultimately achieve a higher quality of life, says Nestlé South Africa spokesperson, Motshidisi Mokwena.

The Nestlé Healthy Kids Programme was first piloted in Gauteng in 2012, through a series of industrial theatre performances at the Johannesburg Zoo and in the Hammanskraal area, respectively. It was later formally launched in 2013 at Tshebedisano Primary School, in Soweto. The aim of the programme is to promote healthy lifestyles through good nutrition initiatives targeted at school going children between the ages of six and 12, food handlers, educators and parents.

“The Department of Basic Education (DBE) through the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) is committed to make a real difference in learners’ lives by providing nutritious meals to more than 9 million learners on all school days,” says Dr. Granville Whittle, the Deputy Director-General of Social Mobilisation and Support at DBE. “The Minister of Basic Education launched the National School Deworming Programme in February 2016 which is intended to maximise the nutrient uptake of NSNP meals, leading to improved health and educational outcomes. Through the “Healthy Kids Programme (HKP)”, we are achieving even more in promoting and maintaining learner’s healthy and active life,” Dr Whittle added.

Key to this programme is the promotion of healthy eating habits, understanding of a balanced diet, and the importance of physical activity as part of a child’s daily routine.

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For enquiries:

Dept of Basic Education: Balosang Sanki Lerefolo on 082 836 8703
Nestlé South Africa: Motshidisi Mokwena on 082 468 8752