As schools close for the holidays, one Ennerdale educator is working to ensure that learners who rely on school meals do not have to face the break without food. Lyric Louw, an educator at Odin Park Primary and owner of Angels Nest Tutoring Service (Pty) Ltd, started a holiday feeding initiative after seeing first-hand how heavily some learners depend on the school feeding scheme for their daily meals.
Louw said the reality stayed on her mind as the school holidays approached. “Every day at school I see how many of our learners depend on the school feeding scheme for their only proper meal of the day. When school closes for the holidays, that meal is gone and I cannot stop thinking about where they will eat,” she said. She said the concern eventually motivated her to take action rather than simply go on holiday knowing that some children could be struggling with hunger. “It has been weighing heavily on my mind. I kept asking myself, how can I just go on holiday knowing some of my learners might go to bed hungry?” Louw said.
The initiative, which took place in Ennerdale yesterday, provided warm meals to people in need during the school holiday period. Louw stressed that the initiative was not intended to be a large formal project, but rather an effort driven by compassion and a desire to help. “It is not a big, formal project. It is simply from my heart as a teacher who sees their hunger and cannot look away,” she said. The meals were shared with everyone who was in need, extending the initiative beyond learners and ensuring that other community members could also benefit. According to Louw, the goal is to provide children with a nutritious meal during the holidays so that they can return to school healthy, happy and ready to learn. “No child should have to worry about where their next meal will come from,” she said.
The initiative highlights the role educators and community members can play in responding to challenges that extend beyond the classroom, particularly during school holidays when access to school-based meals may be interrupted. Louw hopes the initiative will continue to provide support to those facing food insecurity and serve as a reminder that small acts of kindness can make a difference in the lives of children and families.
