Programs
Programs
Isipho’s programs focus on two problems defined by the local Integrated Development Plan as the top priorities for
iNzinga children
iNzinga: developing a secure, sustainable food supply, and reducing illiteracy. These two issues are intertwined, as malnourished children can’t learn, and uneducated children can’t lift themselves out of poverty.
Both of our programs are designed to create self-sufficiency. We do not replace poverty with dependency.
Food Security Challenge:
iNzinga’s malnutrition is not the result of a lack of food. It is the result of a lack of variety. Because they lack fresh vegetables in their diet, residents of iNzinga are deficient in the vitamins and minerals necessary for good health. The result has been stunted growth, birth defects and high infant mortality, and chronic illness. Even though they live in an area where it is possible for them to grow their own vegetables, due to iNzinga’s extreme poverty, people in the village cannot afford fencing, tools or starter seeds to grow their own vegetables. Additionally, their long-term inability to afford to grow vegetables eventually resulted in a loss of gardening knowledge.
Our Food Security Program:
Isipho provides posts, fencing, start-up seeds and seedlings, gardening tools, and vegetable gardening training to participating families. Those families receive all of this in exchange for agreeing to attend the initial multi-day training
Woman preparing a community garden
provided by Cedara College of Agriculture, meet with the Cedara College trainers monthly during the growing season, and, most importantly, agree to mentor and support additional families’ gardens the following year.
By teaching families how to garden successfully, and then making them responsible to teach other families, every garden we put in place is a step toward many more successful family food gardens. When we put in place a family garden, we give them everything they need to successfully provide for themselves and support their neighbors on an ongoing basis.
In 2009, we provided 40 families with fencing, training, tools and seeds. By focusing our efforts, empowering and encouraging families to help others, by 2012 we will be able to have every family growing their own vegetables and assisting their neighbors toward success.
But family food gardens alone will not bridge the nutrition gap in the village. Many in iNzinga are orphaned children or
Family garden starter kit
invalids who can’t garden for themselves. In 2009 we also installed more than 500 square yards of food gardens at the village’s schools and orphan center. These community gardens also are used by the schools to teach the children how to grow vegetables.
According to Harold Alderman of The World Bank, a one percent reduction in malnutrition leads to a four percent reduction in poverty. Improving nutrition contributes to productivity, economic development and poverty reduction by improving physical work capacity, cognitive development and school performance; it also reduces disease and mortality.
Education:
iNzinga children at the Primary School
There are seven crèches (kindergartens), two Primary Schools and a Secondary School in iNzinga. There is also a Drop-in Center for OVC’s (Orphans and Vulnerable Children) to go to after school. Each is staffed by dedicated administrators and teachers, but they do not have the materials they need to help the children of iNzinga reach their potential.
Isipho provides early learning materials to all crèches in iNzinga, as well as school supplies, books, teaching tools and teacher training to the Primary and Secondary Schools. We provide outdoor games, blankets, and other items to the OVC Drop-in Center.
If you would like to support these programs, find out how you can help. To learn more about the education crisis in South Africa, please read the Education section of our FAQ.