THE Nsimbini crèche in Umbumbulu had a greenhouse ‘veggie’ tunnel and seedlings sponsored by Initiative Media together with the empowerment of A Centre That Serves (ACTS) on the scorching Thursday, 2 February. The tunnel was erected by the Amanzimtoti Community Upliftment Project (AMCUP) team.
The crèche was sponsored and officially opened by The Rotary Club of Clairwood Park on 22 November 2015.
“When we started in 2012 we used a wooden shack as the crèche, we were fortunate enough to have a ‘kitchen’ container donated to us by M Projects,” said founder, Lindiwe Mcambi.
When the crèche grew in popularity, the Rotary Club of Clairwood organised for another container (which is still in use today) to replace the shack.
“We have 25 children today but it’s still the beginning of the year. By the end of the year we have up to 40 children everyday. They start pouring in at 7am, leaving at 3pm,” said Lindiwe.
AMCUP is a community upliftment organisation where unemployed men who want to better themselves can go to seek refuge. They are then required to earn their keep by tackling community projects such as the construction of these veggie tunnels in rural areas all over KZN. Other projects they’ve been involved in include feeding schemes and brick-making for rural housing. The organisation manufactures the veggie tunnels as part of its job creation project, where those receiving the tunnels are taught to grow vegetables. Through sponsorship from all the different churches in the community and the private sector, the tunnels are made available to the communities, thereby enabling them to become self sufficient in some of their needs.
“On Tuesday we will plant 300 spinach and 100 cabbage plants. This will supply the crèche with a lot of the needed vegetables for the children’s meals,” said AMCUP’s Pieter Smith. The group have been involved in previous greenhouse projects in far more rural areas.
“Projects like these are so rewarding. A few years back one of our projects was in an extremely rural area, where we watched locals queue for up to an hour to receive a small bucket of water – our eyes were opened to new extremes of deprivation,” said Pieter.
Lindiwe said that in the greenhouse tunnel they will plant vegetables that require less water, due to the scarcity of the precious resource.
“We used to have rivers flowing consistently through our village, but now if we’re lucky they’re trickling streams,” said the founder.
ACTS appeals to the public for the sponsorship of or donation towards a mass water storage tank (such as a JoJo tank) for its use.
Donations be made into the NPO’s account:
Wendy Immelman Trust t/a ACTS
FNB
- Account number: 62205550834
- Branch: 220127
- Ref: JoJo tank
For more information on ACTS, email Carol van Zyl – carol@acentrethatserves.co.za
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