Page 26 - SA Fruit Journal VOLUME 14

Suzette Poole, Nicholas Dicey and Jacques du Preez (in the back row) with teachers and pupils of La Plaisante Crêche during the delivery of the books.SA Deciduous fruit industry distributes books to schools and crêchesThe South African deciduous fruit indus- try (DFI) has delivered another contain- er full of English language reading and text- books to farming schools and farm crèches in the fruit areas. This follows on a similar project in 2013. The aim of this initiative is to contribute to social investment in South Africa as part of the international market development campaign in various fruit im- porting countries. By entering a competition it teaches and encourages children and con- sumers in the United Kingdom to eat and buy more South African Fruit.Increasingly shoppers are making ethi- cal choices to eliminating poverty and cre- ating jobs. South Africa’s deciduous fruit industry is a huge employer and provides household income and food security to a third of a million people. The SA Fruit In- dustry plays a prominent part in the food supply chain.The books were collected in the United Kingdom, along with entries to the “Help a South African School” competition, organ-ised by HORT-GRO. The compe-tition is part of acampaign whereschools in the UKsubmit English lan-guage books, which were collected from each competition entrant and shipped to South Africa to help rural schools in fruit produc- ing parts of the country. These UK schools are invited to collect and donate unwanted English language text and reading books to schools in South Africa in rural and farming regions.The “Help a South African School” cam- paign is a wonderful initiative that provides disadvantaged children with valuable educa- tion resources. It plays a vital part in educat- ing and supporting farming families. We be- lieve that education is the great equalizer in the world, and books are at the foundation of a strong educational system. For many chil- dren in South Africa, the gift of books is truly is a gift of hope.Excited readers of La Plaisant NGK Primary.TRANSFORMATION 23 FEB | MARCH 2015transformasieTRANSFORMATION