It’s 6.30am and the teachers at Maphumuzana Junior Secondary in Umlazi’s C-Section are already hard at work preparing breakfast for some of the pupils.
Principal Nonhlanhla Nzuza, walking tall and proud in her black cork wedges, smiles as she heads to the school’s kitchen.
It is here that her teachers are busy chopping vegetables, stirring the porridge for breakfast and cheerfully discussing the previous week’s Heritage Day cultural event.
Some of the pots are already bubbling in preparation for the meal, courtesy of the Department of Education’s national nutrition programme.
It started in 1994 for primary school pupils, who enjoy a menu of rice, mince, vegetable breyani, sugar beans and fruit.
But it does not include breakfast, so at Maphumuzana the teachers and a generous donor help pay for the meal.
The children start trickling in from 7am and the porridge is served – this process is repeated twice until all 68 children are fed.
All that is left is the washing up, and here some of the children help. Then it’s the school assembly and the school day starts.
“When I arrived here I found that some pupils would arrive at school with empty stomachs,” Nzuza said.
“During assembly they would get dizzy… some would vomit and even faint.
“It is very difficult to concentrate on an empty stomach.
“I am very sensitive to this… I grew up an orphan, so I understood their plight.”
Nzuza became school principal in 2003. She identified the needy children and initiated the programme.
“At first I used to wake up at 5am and make the breakfast alone. Then gradually the teachers started helping. Now all 18 of our staff help me.”
The teachers use their own money to buy ingredients, and in recent years an “angel from above” (as Nzuza describes her), who wants to remain anonymous, stepped in to help the breakfast scheme.
Breakfast menu includes oats, porridge, hot cocoa and bread with the option of peanut butter or jam.
It has made a world of difference to the children, said Nzuza, with teachers saying that pupils were more attentive, participated more, were happier and absenteeism had dropped significantly.
Grade 1 teacher Thoko Linda, who lives close to the school, said she woke up at 5am and by 5.45am was at school. Even though she did not have children of her own she felt humbled by the fact that she went to bed every night knowing she had helped a child.
“Since the initiative was launched in 2003, I must say there has been a major difference,” she said.
“At first the children would fall asleep in the classroom but now we start the day on a good note. The children are happy, they are more attentive and concentrate better.”
Janet Mnyandu, a Grade 3 teacher at the school, said she did it for the love of the little ones.
“Some of them are orphans and some are raised by their grandparents – it’s really a pleasure knowing you’ve lightened the load.”
Another teacher, Thobekile Ndlovu, said:
“It is such a great feeling because we do this from the bottom of our hearts.”
Despite the challenges, the staff and pupils at Maphumuzana, are proof that progress and success starts with little steps.
During the annual national assessment, the school was ranked “excellent” and was one of the top three primary schools in Umlazi. - Daily News, page 9