Unjani Clinic in Villa Liza gets to the root of healthy eating
A delegation from Johnson’s Baby visited the Unjani Clinic, in Villa Liza, on September 18, for a vegetable garden excursion.
Johnson Baby’s national campaign is aimed at improving the lives of three million babies in South Africa by 2020.
Ilze’ Saunders Buys, Miss Earth 2014, model, actress and activist, who is also a friend of the project, was on hand to show residents how to create and care for their vegetable gardens.
Johnson’s Baby is contributing to Arbor Day celebrations by creating vegetable gardens at selected Unjani Clinics across the country.
Miss Earth 2014 Ilze’ Saunders Buys in the Unjani Clinic garden.The idea is for the Unjani nurses and their community to maintain and develop these vegetable gardens, helping mothers and babies within the community with better access to healthier food options on an ongoing basis.
These gardens are a way of encouraging communities to grow their own food and follow a healthy diet.
Saunders Buys shared with the community of Villa Liza that healthy skin comes from within and that they should eat healthily for their skins to be healthy.
“We are here to teach the community about the importance of food security and we have taught them how to plant different vegetables in their gardens. We have planted cabbage, spinach, onion, carrots and beetroot for the community,” she said.
Johnson’s Baby provided the Unjani Clinic with watering cans and a maintenance plan to further assist with the growth of the gardens.
The mothers at the clinic received free vouchers, which they can use for vaccinations, examinations and wellness checks for their children.
Sister Nomsa Zazayokwe, from the Unjani Clinic, expressed her excitement at the visit by Johnson’s Baby to their clinic.
“When I got the space to run this as a clinic it was a dumping ground, but I managed to open the gardening project to encourage the community to eat healthy food.
“I am so happy for the support shown by Johnson’s Baby towards the enhancement of our garden. Many will benefit from the garden and I’m glad that some of the community members learned today how to plant seeds,” Zazayokwe said.
The harvested vegetables will either be donated to surrounding preschools or will be sold to community members at a reduced cost in order to self-fund the continuation of the gardens and provide further produce to the locals.
