New kitchen for Maloney’s Eye Rural Primary School

The official opening of the new kitchen at Maloney’s Eye Rural Primary School took place at the school on July 18 and was attended by District Director of the Department of Education Peter Skosana, as well as representatives from the sponsors, Maropeng and the Dad’s Charity Challenge.

Skosana says the new kitchen will make a huge difference to the community: “This is an investment of a lifetime for these rural schoolchildren as they can see that these nice things are not only for town children, but are for them as well.”

The 35m² kitchen is valued at R100 000 and will ensure the school’s 287 learners receive at least one cooked meal daily.

“We are thrilled with our new kitchen and truly grateful for the assistance we have received from our sponsors,” says school principal Christine Masibi. “Our learners will benefit greatly from the extra nourishment, which I am sure will allow them to achieve bigger and better things, not only at school, but within the community too.”

Over the past two years Maropeng has developed a special relationship with the school and community, donating almost R810 000 in food and infrastructure. “A number of our staff come from the Maloney’s community or even attended the school, so it is a project that is very close to our hearts, and our staff enthusiastically support the community whenever they can,” says Maropeng Education Marketing Executive Magel van de Venter.

The Dad’s Charity Challenge has adopted the school as one of the beneficiaries of its Johannesburg to Durban cycle event, and has also established a partnership with Pick n Pay, which provides the school with fresh produce on a weekly basis to supplement its daily meals.

Rob Jackson of Dad’s Charity Challenge says that making a difference is incredibly rewarding: “It’s a really nice feeling to see on a daily basis. As the Dad’s Charity Challenge, we are contributing to nearly 300 full bellies every day.”

A builder from the rural community was sourced to assist in the kitchen-building project, which also attracted other local business owners, who gave of their time and resources in aid of the worthy cause: Splashworks donated the plumbing equipment; Builders Warehouse provided the shiny new kitchen unit; Dawn Group donated the tiles; and Plascon showed its support through a supply of paint.

It was a shortage of classrooms at the school that originally prompted the sponsors to fund a new kitchen. This will allow for the existing kitchen to be converted back into a classroom to accommodate 52 Grade 1 learners.

“The kitchen could not have come at a better time. We are looking forward to serving hot food for the remaining part of our cold winter,” says Masibi.

Watch the video of the day’s events: