HERD - Community Development Project

The community nutrition project has made big leaps since it was initially started at the end of 2021. For 2022 we have partnered with NTT Toyota Hoedspruit who agreed to sponsor half of the Nkosi Bars required for the Grade R group of 2022, giving approximately 170 pupils in this group access to benefits of the Nkosi Bar.

Going into 2023 we are growing this valuable project even further. We will be following the Grade R class of 2022 into the new year by continuing their journey with them into Grade 1 and supplying Nkosi Bars to them for the entire year of 2023. Although this is exciting to follow these pupils going forward, it brings us great joy to add the next group of Grade R pupils, the class of 2023! We are therefore expanding the Nkosi Bar project to now include approximately 340 pupils in 2023, up from 170 pupils in 2022! HERD is extremely excited to grow this community project through this valuable cooperation with the Mpisi Primary School.

Meaning that throughout 2023 a total of roughly 42 000 Nkosi Bars will be consumed as part of this project!

Building on the success of the Nkosi Bar project, we have started with the first phase of the community vegetable garden.

Approximately 100 old vehicle tyres were used to build a raised bed mixed use vegetable garden for the school’s benefit. Old tyres in South-Africa does not have an end-of-life plan and often ends up in landfills and water supplies. Turning these tyres into something useful gives these items a positive purpose and breath of life. Tyres being all black by default does not encourage school pupils to visit and utilize the garden, therefore we have painted the tyres using bright and colorful paints that will stand the test of time. We have given our team on the ground creative freedom to express themselves when decorating the tyres. They took to the task with great enthusiasm and created a colorful and creative display that will no doubt be used by the school.

Planting of seedlings will commence in January of 2023 as there won’t be anyone to tend to the seedlings as the schools close for the festive season. After the first phase of the vegetable garden has been completed, two more phases of similar size can be completed with the available space. Taking even more tyres out of burning landfills and turning them into colorful value adding structures. As construction of the school commences, more space will be made available for the construction of used tyre playgrounds in place of empty barren soil. Through this project it is possible to remove more than 500 tyres from landfills!

HERD alongside all its partners have managed to start a project that genuinely adds value to the community it serves. We are extremely grateful to everyone who has contributed, big and small, to ensure that this project was made possible. We hope to turn 2023 into an even more meaningful year.

Warm Regards

Adine and The HERD Team

We are so grateful to everyone who has supported the Community Nutrition/Development Project and happy to report that the project is doing well, but we still need funding to get all the stages up and running. The Community Nutrition/Development Project’s progress is very slow.

The most active part right now of the Project includes the Nkosi Bar Program. At Mpisi Primary School, HERD has started with the Grade R learners at the school.  As of the time of writing a total of 8400 Nkosi Bars have been handed out at the Mpisi Primary School from January 2022.

Total cost for a month for the Nkosi Bar project is $1000.00 USD, this includes the Nkosi Bars itself for the children, the travelling cost to and from the school, the picking up and dropping of the Nkosi Bars from the supplier.

We are happy to announce that weighing for the kids happened on Africa Day in May 2022! The students’ weight, height, head circumference and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) were measured. The MUAC measurement is done with a MUAC tape, which is designed to identify malnutrition. These statistics will be compared to a global database as a reference to determine whether the Nkosi Bar has a positive impact on the children’s development. Our next weighing will be early September 2022.

Unfortunately, our vegetable Garden at the school is not up and running due to budget restraints, however HERD collected a few tyres and is making fertiliser from our elephant dung project. Hopefully by next quarter we will have exciting news in this regard! Fingers crossed however we are continuing and not letting this great project slip! The vegetable garden will be used to supplement the children’s daily ration at the school. The children will get one meal at the school per day, for many of these pupils that will be the only meal of the day. We would like to get this part up and running as soon as possible, we would appreciate your support in this regard.

The last part of the project is our Scouts program that will serve as the third aspect of the project. This focus on mental and personal development for the children. This will take place after the construction of the vegetable garden. Your support in the Scout program will be welcomed and the program will be highly beneficial for the kids.  

This project will improve the long-term development of children both physically and mentally through a combination of the Community Vegetable Garden, Nkosi Bars, and the Scouts project.  As much of the critical development takes place during these stages of life. The success of this project has the potential to chart the course for everyone’s future development.  This is an ongoing project, which will grow over time, however it is essential to continue with community projects. Elephant conservation is a message we convey through these outreaches.

We will appreciate any contribution for this project as we want to push the Vegetable Garden and Scout programme as it will benefit the children and their community in a big way. We are grateful for all your recurring donations as well as all the new donations to continue with the Nkosi bars distribution. We are blessed with the support from everyone and are sure we will grow the veggie garden with new and ongoing support.   

Thank you for supporting our efforts in raising funds for our much-needed community campaigns. We simply can’t do it without you!

Thank you so much.

Adine and The HERD Team

Links:

• Building Strong bodies and minds weigh dat at Mpisi School
• Nutrition for little minds get involved