Building a Brighter Future from the Ground Up

We believe the early years have a profound impact on a child’s future. Investing in school programmes fosters not only personal growth and development but also empowers individuals to create positive change within their communities. This focus contributes to breaking cycles of poverty and promotes inclusive, sustainable growth for South Africa. By creating nurturing environments and providing quality education during these formative years, we help children reach their full potential.

School Nutrition

South Africa Faces a Challenge: Less than half of children entering Grade 1 finish high school. This lack of education fuels a high unemployment rate, reaching 70% for those without a diploma. Poverty and hunger further restrict access to education, with millions lacking reliable food and resources. 

School meals are a powerful tool. They incentivise families to send children to school, where they receive not just food but a safe space for development, learning, and social interaction. This prepares them for future education and increases their potential to secure a livelihood. By staying in school, children gain the skills and knowledge to break the cycle of poverty and build a brighter future

Outputs

In the year under review, the DBSA partnered with the Lunchbox Fund.

A total of 628 450 meals were served to 3 830 preschool children attending 166 ECD centres in five provinces.

Together with the meals, each ECD is provided cutlery and crockery for each child and preparation/serving containers and aprons for each school. In total, 19 235 items of equipment were supplied to the ECDs benefiting from the project

School Sanitation

The unsafe pit latrines have claimed the lives of countless children over decades, and this has evolved into a national crisis demanding urgent action. 

Pit latrines are a prevalent form of sanitation across South Africa, especially in rural areas and informal settlements where centralised sewage systems are lacking. Efforts have been made to innovate in the field of sanitation, with projects focusing on developing more sustainable and hygienic pit latrine designs and promoting community education on proper sanitation practices. This remains a pressing need for continued investment in infrastructure and initiatives to ensure access to safe and hygienic sanitation for all South Africans, particularly those in rural and informal settlement areas. 

We believe that access to safe sanitation is a fundamental human right, and through collaborative efforts like this, we are committed to creating a future where every child can thrive in a safe and hygienic learning environment.

Outputs 

In the year under review, the DBSA partnered with Breadline Africa, to eliminating over 200 hazardous pit toilets, mitigating health risks for children, and ensuring a safe learning environment.

The initiative kicked off in Mount Ayliff, Eastern Cape, where two schools serving visibly impoverished and rural communities were identified as priority areas for intervention. Recognising the pressing need for action, the DBSA and Breadline Africa joined forces to tackle this persistent challenge head-on. Through the collaborative endeavour, outdated and unsafe pit toilets have been replaced with modern, flushing facilities, equipped with a 60-litre water tank. 

These upgraded facilities not only prioritise the health and safety of children but also champion sustainable infrastructure solutions. By utilising a mere two litres of water per flush, sourced from nearby water sources, the project ensures a sustainable solution in water-scarce communities like Mount Ayliff.

In addition, by providing employment opportunities for 30 local artisans and contractors during the construction phase, the project contributes to local economic growth. 

By eliminating the need for costly pit toilet maintenance, the project has saved the schools thousands of rands. Benefiting over 450 children and educators, this initiative sets a precedent for future endeavours aimed at enhancing community well-being

We are committed to scaling the project’s impact significantly. Over the coming months, an additional eight schools across Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu Natal will receive similar support. This extension will see over 200 toilet facilities, including seats and urinals, replaced, benefiting over 3 000 children and educators.