About 100 principals from some of the underserviced areas of South Africa will descend on Sandton next week for a two-day intensive conference hosted by the Tiger Brands Foundation (TBF).
The Foundation, established in 2011 currently provides nutritious meals in 94 non-fee paying schools across the country through its in-school breakfast programme. Through the programme TBF serves approximately 70 000 meals on an average school day.
From the 17th to the 18th of June, nearly 100 principals will soak in good practices and lessons at The Capital On The Park in Sandton, Johannesburg under the theme “Beyond The Meal”.
“This is our third biennial Principals’ Conference,” said Eugene Absolom, Director of the Foundation. “The previous conference, held in 2017, proved to be a major success with the principals, we are certain this year’s conference will only be better. Through this conference we are hoping to uncover the positive ripple effects of the programme from beyond a hot plate of breakfast in the morning.”
The last conference, themed: Hungry Children Cannot Learn; Healthy Children Change the World, saw attendees, speakers and panellists discuss the importance of learners receiving better nutrition in order to focus on their schooling objectives.
“The biggest drive behind the work that we do as a Foundation is to provide opportunities to young school-going children in previously disadvantaged communities. In order to attain these opportunities in the future, we believe it should start today, with good nutritious meals that allow learners to concentrate in school.
“We believe in the complete buy in of the community surrounding these learners, from parents, residents, teachers, government and principals around the no-fee paying schools we have as beneficiaries. A conference of this nature then becomes incredibly important when you understand that these principals are the custodians of the vision we have for the country’s future, our youth,” says Absolom.
Principals will hear from various stakeholders in multiple private and public sectors related to nutrition, education, collaboration, advocates for children’s rights, as well as their peers among many others.
“Principals are an important element to our value chain. Knowing what’s going right, what’s going wrong, our impact and getting insight and solutions from each other goes a long way in the sustainability of a programme such as this,” says Absolom.