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Maloney’s Eye Primary School pupils

Children in bright blue uniforms from Maloney’s Eye Primary School jostled with anticipation as they tried to get to the front to see what was happening in the newly prepared gardens. An area of the school grounds had been cleared by the Maropeng team, and old car tyres had been strategically placed in preparation for planting vegetables.

Maloney’s Eye is about 10 km (6 mi) from Maropeng and the Maropeng team hope to help make a difference to the lives of the children there.
Tony Rubin, Managing Director of Maropeng, and members of his management team have undertaken to help plant vegetables at the school. As Tony explained to the children, “This is an important day in our heritage; this is a day for planting vegetables for you to eat. We are here to help you plant vegetables and we will come here regularly to help you look after them.”

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Peter helps with the planting

The children promised that they would look after the garden.

The school prepares a cooked meal for the 266 children every day, but it consists of soya and rice, samp or porridge. “The children eat soya every day and we hope that these vegetables will supplement the meal we cook for them,” says Christina Masibi, the principal of Maloney’s Eye. Unemployment in the area is rife and for many children this is the only cooked meal of the day.

Peter Mahanza, an “old boy” of Maloney’s Eye and now assistant Food and Beverage Manager at Maropeng, was on hand to plant and water seedlings. Peter attended the school for five years and says, “It is a privilege to come back here to see what Mrs Masibi has been doing. I remember planting trees here when I was a boy.”

Members of the Maropeng team animatedly showed the children how to sow seeds. The idea is that the seedlings will be ready to harvest in 30 – 60 days and the seeds that were sown will be ready to plant, so that the school has a continuous supply of vegetables.