Johannesburg, 02 Aug 2011
ConVista's German parent company made funds available which they were willing to invest in sustainable projects in South Africa. ConVista approached Fundraiser of Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA), which proposed the Khayelitsha Special School (KSS) at which FTFA had recently planted trees to offset the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative meeting in the Western Cape.
ConVista's culture of participation and hands-on involvement saw its staff in Cape Town physically assist in implementing and growing this initiative. This school would benefit greatly from a Permaculture food garden, which acts as an outside classroom and also produces healthy vegetables used to feed the learners. The outcome not only benefited the school, but also had a profound impact on the folk from ConVista.
Ingrid Rathbone, one of ConVista's SAP consultants, based the following article on her first-hand experience.
My mom always said that there is nothing as good as getting your hands dirty. I could not have disagreed more. I absolutely hate it when the dirt creeps in under my fingernails. I shudder just thinking about it! So, when our HR Manager said we were going to the Khayelitsha Special School to help plant a garden for children with special needs, I agreed on one condition - that I could take a pair of gardening gloves with.
Our holding company, ConVista Consulting Germany, had the desire to invest in a sustainable living project in South Africa, and Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA) proposed the Khayelitsha Special School. They motivated that this specific school community would benefit greatly from a Permaculture food garden.
Khayelitsha Special School is the first school for disabled black children in South Africa. The garden would not only be a source of healthy organic food, but would also provide a meaningful activity to engage the children. The dream is that the establishment of this food garden would inspire similar gardens at the pupils' homes and become a source of nutrition, as well as income to their families. ConVista Cape Town rounded up staff members and volunteered their services to assist with the development of the gardens for a day. The FTFA ran with the project, we, the ConVista volunteers, ventured out to the Khayelitsha Special School to see what needed to be done. When we arrived at the school, little children trickled in through the vegetable garden's gate, curious to see what these people were up to.
There was quite a task at hand! We were divided into smaller groups, assigned tools and set out accomplishing our different goals. These included clearing the boundary fence of grass, plastic, glass, rocks and other rubbish, the planting of wild olive trees, layering the garden with mushroom compost and then mulch, as well as planting an array of vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower, salads, beetroot and spinach.
As soon as we started digging in the soil and wheeling in compost, the children showed great enthusiasm and a willingness to also get their hands dirty. The atmosphere was festive and contagious. One little chap wheeled his wheelbarrow with the panache of an F1 driver, and accompanied his race performance with his own sound effects. The pupils were eager to learn how they could help and were very careful with the seedlings - holes were delicately dug with little fingers and after planting, small hands levelled the soil and patted it into place. The children clearly demonstrated the worth of these gardens when they plucked crispy vegetables, fresh from the soil, from already established parts of the garden and munched on them during the course of the day.
At one stage, my little garden helper pointed to my glove, indicating that she thought it to be the perfect gardening accessory, and that she wanted it for herself. At first I was very reluctant to part with my survival tool for the day, but she kept on pointing at it. So, I slowly removed my glove and handed it to her. She was overjoyed! Immediately slipping it onto her hand, she helped me distribute the compost in the vegetable garden with renewed zeal and a glowing grin. Soon I saw I was not the only volunteer to part with a glove, as other children were also working with gloved hands and growing glee. It made the perfect picture: my colleagues and I working side-by-side with these gifted little gardeners, one glove on the hand of a little child, the other on a colleague.
Later, during the morning, my little assistant took a break. She promptly removed the glove, gave it to her friend, and so doing handed over the important responsibility of being my helper. My new assistant immediately jumped in and helped me. I was touched by her selfless sharing, an action to her as natural as breathing.
The conclusion of our work later in the day brought on the opportunity to meet the principal of the school, as well as some of the teachers. The principal thanked us and we were treated to a delicious vegetable soup and salad that had been prepared from ingredients harvested from the garden earlier that morning.
Working with these precious children has been a humbling experience and I am proud to say that, despite my initial reluctance, I got my hands dirty and it was good!
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