Dear Friends of Golden Sunbeams
The African seasons are opposite to the seasons in Europe: spring in Europe – March, April and May – is autumn in South Africa.
While in Germany the merry month of May with its lush, bright green trees, lilies of the valley, daisies and dandelions creates the best atmosphere, here at the Cape it is already becoming somewhat autumnal. As autumnal as in the months of September to November north of the equator, but of course not as cold and, of course, a lot sunnier too!
That’s why we now say “plant vegetable seedlings” and by that we mean cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, cabbage and spinach, to name just a few.
Two of our kindergartens manage quite large vegetable gardens, the establishment and expansion of which we continue to support financially and actively.
Last week we delivered a car packed with seedlings to our EmfundiSweni kindergarten in Nomzamo township, which was even awarded the “Best vegetable garden in a township in South Africa” by the government in 2014.
Since then, the hard-working principal Nomalizo has purposefully pushed forward the expansion of her green oasis with our help. With success, because the vegetable harvests are rich and make an important contribution to healthy nutrition in the community.
The principal Nomalizo from EmfundiSweni proudly presents her sweet potato harvest to us.
Unfortunately, the nutritional situation here is still often characterised by a lack of essential vitamins and minerals, especially among women and children. Increased cultivation and consumption of vegetables improves nutrition significantly.
It is also important to us that the children take part in planting, caring for and harvesting the various types of vegetables and that additional income can be generated from the excess harvest.
The second in the group is our kindergarten Kingdom Kids Edu-Care in one of the poorest townships in the region, in Sir Lowry’s Pass.
In the garden of Kingdom Kids in Sir Lowry’s Pass, Zelna the principal and her small team of volunteer gardeners have already prepared the soil for the vegetable beds.
We supported the kindergarten in planting a large vegetable garden, which is located directly on the Riverside creek and therefore offers ideal irrigation options.
With a wide range of cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, cabbage and spinach as well as some other seedlings, we surprised Zelna, the principal of Kingdom Kids, who was delighted with the great variety. Here, too, through the effective management of the garden, the kindergarten is able to sell the harvest that exceeds its own needs in the community and thereby generate income. Zelna also uses the home-grown vegetables for her soup kitchen, which she opens several times a week to the poor in the Sir Lowry’s Pass community.
Now it’s time to keep your fingers crossed! A mild autumn with lots of sun and occasional rain is needed so that the “young vegetables” grow and develop magnificently. So we hope again for a very successful and productive harvest.
We would like to thank our members and sponsors for their support. This is how Golden Sunbeams e.V. is able to finance such donations in kind. Thank you for continuing to support us.
Enjoy the merry month of May and warm greetings from slightly autumnal South Africa.
Yours,
Britta & Bernd