Thanks to the Shell Retail Challenge, members of Basadi Temong, a community based organisation in Phutaditjaba, Free State, are hard at work preparing land for a food garden.
Shell is supporting Basadi Temong after the organization joined forces with its customers to raise almost R110 00, 00 for charitable causes.
Says Sinenhlanhla Melane, Communications Manager, “Shell is pleased the proceeds from the Retail Charity Challenge can be used to benefit local communities such as Basadi Temong on Mandela Day. Not only does this initiative address Shell’s core focus on environmental sustainability but the community benefit is sustainable beyond the significance of the day. “
The Retail Charity Challenge is a Shell Select initiative, in partnership with retail customers, to raise funds that can be used to make a meaningful difference to underprivileged members of society. Listeners of 5fm were encouraged to sms the name of their favourite charity and proceeds were donated to the charity of choice.
Each sms was entered into a draw for a Hyundai i20, and votes were accrued for each charity during Shell`s Charity Challenge month. Sylvia Dayers was selected as the lucky winner. She nominated Food & Trees For Africa (FTFA) as her charity of choice to receive the prize money. R7 684.46 from the sms entries of the competition, and an additional R100 000 from Shell Select was put towards implementing a food garden at a needy community.
The members of this project are extremely motivated and the educators have a good working knowledge of Permaculture due to their participation in FTFA’s EduPlant workshops in this area in previous years.
The project has already overcome a major obstacle in the form of available land to use and it is admirable that the members are giving up part of their own land in order to strive for the very commendable objective of helping the needy with healthy organic food. “We are genuinely commitment to alleviating poverty in a small but real way,” says Mrs Makhele, project member. “We want to uplift the quality of life in our community and our chief objective is to feed the many orphans in the area, either affected or infected by the scourge of HIV/AIDS.”
Their secondary objective is to stimulate an income through the sale of extra produce harvested from the gardens. A portion of this income will be ploughed back into the garden to ensure its sustainability. Lastly, the members are keen re-cyclers and aim to promote it in the area through practical demonstration.
This gift from Shell has empowered the members of Basadi Temong to develop this food gardening project, and also afforded the procurement of 86 fruit trees. This mini orchard was planted around the garden, forming part of the food gardening initiatives.
To add to the celebrations, the community of Phutaditjaba also received 500 trees through the Trees for Homes programme, where trees are distributed to the community to plant at their homes for greening and climate change awareness.
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