Hanover Park is an impoverished community on Cape Town’s Cape Flats, notorious for gang violence, drug and alcohol abuse, high levels of unemployment and other social ills that plague its residents. For many of the children, school is a refuge away from these negative influences and dangers.
“When Breadline Africa is approached to assist in a community such as this, there is no hesitation,” said the organisation’s Director, Marion Wagner. “We always do our best to help, because we know the difference that a safe structure can make.”
Summit Primary School in Hanover Park is just such a project. Its principal, Mr Ebrahim Follentine, was raised in the community and taught at the school before being appointed to his current role. He is well aware of the social ills that abound in the area – and the children are vulnerable to all of it. The school is rated as a ‘no-fees’ facility, which limits the services they can offer.
Prior to the placement of the new kitchen, the previous space designated for cooking was separated from the boys’ toilet by a partition. Unfortunately, this made things rather unhygienic, particularly as the children were required to eat their meals close by. The available space was narrow, with no cross-ventilation and had no kitchen cupboards.
The school enjoys the support of the Peninsula School Feeding Association, who provide healthy, balanced meals to the children. Although the school has 350 children registered on the feeding programme, the reality is that more than 600 meals are being served each day, making a hygienic kitchen a necessary addition to the school’s facilities.
