Lotus Bakeries helps build children’s educational future with the Kusasa project in South Africa

Since 2018, Lotus Bakeries has supported the Kusasa project in South Africa. This initiative aims to offer children from the region a top-notch education, thus improving the chance of a better future. As for many, 2021 was a year full of challenges with, on top of the poverty and difficult circumstances in which children grow up, the Covid pandemic. Nevertheless, thanks to the support of many sponsors, among which Lotus Bakeries takes the lead, the school managed to keep pace with the best private schools in the area.

In South Africa’s Cape Winelands and Franschhoek Valley, the lush landscape contrasts with the crushing poverty of the local population. There, children grow up in an environment of illiteracy, crime, fractured family structures and unemployment. It was against this backdrop that the Kusasa Project sprung up about 15 years ago. “It all began during a football game with local kids”, begins Doug Gurr, who launched the project together with Dave Riordan. “Right away, we made contact with the local school to help with reading in English (as a second language), sport and mobilising volunteers to help us with our programmes.”

ESTABLISHING THEIR OWN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL

After a while, Dave and Doug realised that they wanted to have more impact and control. “The African children in this environment live in closely packed wooden shacks, often without running water, electricity or toilets. The most impactful way of giving these kids a chance of a better future was to offer them a decent education”, Doug continues. “Because children’s literacy and numeracy in their formative years determines how they will fare as adults. For this reason, the Kusasa Project established its own, well-equipped school in 2015, with outstanding, highly driven teachers. Together, we want to improve their chances of a better future, by offering them a high standard of education from a young age, which every child deserves, regardless of social background or problems.”

The Kusasa Project started with three school years and around 50 children, and has now grown into an organisation with 152 students, spanning six years, and a fantastic team of teachers led by principal Marie-Louise Raymond, who oversees its everyday running. “Our school focuses on development during early childhood”, says Doug. “Educationally speaking, the first ten years of their lives are the most important period for children. If this phase goes well, they’re more likely to be successful later.”

MAKING DREAMS POSSIBLE

For this, The Kusasa Project relies on the support of many sponsors, among which Lotus Bakeries takes the lead. “Since they decided to support us, Lotus Bakeries has catapulted us to another level”, says principal Marie-Louise gratefully. “In addition to financial support, Jan Boone and Isabelle Maes take a close personal interest, and visit us on a regular basis. They join in and try to help where possible. Thanks to their support, the school achieves a very high standard when it comes to technology. Their honest, sincere interest motivates our whole team to go the extra mile. It’s thanks to their support that we achieve the same top standards as private schools in the region. They make it possible for us to dream.”

The local community is very keen to be part of the project. “Unfortunately, we can only admit 26 new children every year”, explains Marie-Louise. “Sometimes there are as many as 220 applications. But we make a conscious choice not to let classes get too big so as to continue to offer high quality and structured education. Their parents commit to doing 20 hours of voluntary work at the school each year: for example by helping with reading in class, cleaning or attending workshops. It’s great to see them really taking this to heart! Even if they don’t always understand everything and we have to lay on interpreters, they’re really supportive and that’s fantastic.”

LEARNING DURING THE PANDEMIC

The pandemic brought major challenges to the Franschhoek Valley too. “In most local community schools, children could only come to school on rotation until the end of January 2022. On average, they went to school just three times every two weeks, due to the total number of children in the class and the social distancing measures in the last two years”, adds Marie-Louise. “Now we are back to running the school as if the children’s education had never been interrupted. This gives our students a significant educational advantage compared to their peers at other schools.

Another challenge is the children’s living conditions. “It’s our job to show understanding for the challenges the families face and the environment in which they have to live”, says Marie-Louise. “It’s virtually impossible to sleep in a wooden shack in the intense summer heat in this region. So the children are often extremely tired at school. Some of them don’t even have a table on which to do their homework, or a place to put their books. We have respect for how parents organise their lives, and try not to cause them extra pressure in an already highly stressful life. This means that our biggest challenges are also our biggest achievements.” On top of this, there are frequent fires, in which many shacks are totally razed to the ground and families lose all of their possessions. “But the resilience of these kids is incredible”, concludes Doug. “They’re survivors. As one of our teachers once said: ‘I’ve never seen children with so much potential. All they need is a chance.’ This statement drives us to make a direct and meaningful impact on the lives of our children, day by day and in the future”.