Loaves and Fishes lives its name
HUNGRY children just need to find their way into the Loaves and Fishes Network and they will be fed – and find a comforting and stimulating place.
This is how it has been for a decade for vulnerable children living on the margins of Buffalo City Metro society.
The network, founded by community doctor and former provincial health MEC, Dr Trudy Thomas, supports a number of daycare establishments in Ducats, Reeston, Nompumelelo, Mzamomhle, Scenery Park, Tsholomnqa and Nxarhuni.
One of those is Yafente Daycare Centre in Scenery Park.
In 2011, Nondithini Ntutu saw the need for a daycare centre in Phase One, Scenery Park and invited parents in her community to share her vision.
By January the following year her daycare centre had officially opened its doors.
However, as Ntutu freely admits, she had no experience of running a daycare centre.
“I didn’t know anything about daycare as the only time I taught kids was at church in Sunday school but I felt there was a big need for it and I knew I would learn with time,” she said.
During a conversation with friends she was told about the Loaves and Fishes Network, a charity in Buffalo City Metro.
Ntutu called them and applied for assistance on behalf of her daycare, which caters to children who are six years and younger.
She said one of the early challenges they faced before being adopted by the Loaves and Fishes Network was lunch time.
“Our biggest challenge was the inequality among the children during lunchtime when they had to eat – some would have fancy food while the others had dry bread for lunch and some did not carry lunch at all. Now we cook and everyone eats the same food,” she said.
Yafente Daycare Centre’s relationship with the Loaves and Fishes Network began in 2015 when it began providing Early Childhood Development (ECD) training as well as the food, toys and equipment that they did not have.
“My staff and I were part of the Early Childhood Development programme. At first I didn’t even know the importance of welcoming the children every day in the morning.
“I learnt how to develop kids holistically. They also brought someone to teach our gardener how to plant vegetables,” Ntutu said.
The Loaves and Fishes Network still comes to the daycare centre every two weeks to monitor and carry out an inspection on the running of the centre. The food is delivered monthly.
“I remember the first time they delivered the food I was so happy. We were able to cook for [the children].”
Currently there are 32 children and four teachers at Yafente. The children are offered two meals a day – breakfast and lunch.
Any daycare centre helped by the Loaves and Fishes Network has to participate in the ECD programme. The centres’ practitioners are trained by professionals, including psychologists and social workers, provided by the network.
While the network started with only six educare centres, it now helps 30 in the BCM area.
Thomas felt that more could be done to fight poverty and, although Thomas is now in retirement and frail, the network is still fully operational and run by Pateka Mtintsilana.
The network is involved in is food security and feeds 1 500 children a year.