Moyahabo Mabeba

LIMPOPO – MAVIS Mathabatha decided to leave her occupation as a teacher and move into the agricultural sector to make a difference there.

The acclaimed 2010 Woman Entrepreneur of the Year started the Moringa Oleifera Project after she realised that many children faced starvation.

The Moringa Oleifera plant is known to contain vitamins, minerals, proteins and amino acids necessary for healthy physical and mental development. Mathabatha is currently helping more than 400 orphans and vulnerable children at Tooseng village in the Mphahlele area with her Sedikong sa Lerato project which aims to alleviate hunger and poverty by promoting healthy living and a strong sense of self for these children.

The Moringa Oleifera project currently employs 25 full time and 142 seasonal workers and according to Mathabatha, the use of moringa tree products had reduced malnutrition in over 350 children supported by the project.

“Before we started, malnutrition was very prevalent in our neighbourhood, but since we’ve started adding moringa to the children’s food, we have seen remarkable results,” Mathabatha said.

They are also exporting more than 12 tons of the plant leaves to Indonesia, the Netherlands, Botswana and Swaziland, there is a big demand for the product overseas.

“Moringa possess remarkable nutritional properties. We cultivate and distribute seedlings to the most economically disadvantaged households in rural Limpopo. Thus we are also responding to the global food crisis and the serious problem of food insecurity in Southern Africa. We aim to use locally available resources to meet these challenges,” said Mathabatha.

Since she started her agricultural project, Mathabatha has been nominated for the national Woman Farmer of the Year Awards and several prestigious farming competitions.

She has already trotted the globe, promoting moringa in countries like China and Germany, among others. The Moringa Oleifera products consist of capsules, tea bags, powder, leaves and crushed moringa.

“Our moringa leaves are added to the daily meals of the orphans that we take care of. The immediate social impact of people consuming it is the improvement of their health, and ability to ward off illnesses, diseases and infections,” she said.

Moringa is endorsed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that its nutrition is the fundamental building block of healthy development.

The sweet smell of success for Lillian with seeds of moringa tree