The Department of Basic Education (DBE) and Nestlé South Africa will officially hand over Nutrition Education Learning and Teaching Support Material (LTSM) to teachers in Nyorwe Primary School in Makapanstad, North West, to mark the launch of the Nestlé Healthy Kids Programme, a partnership between the DBE and Nestlé South Africa.
The launch forms part of the annual National Nutrition Week celebrations. This year, the DBE has suitably chosen the theme: “I am high on life. I eat, learn and play for health,” supporting Basic Education’s priority to enhance quality learning and teaching through improving and maintaining learners’ health and well-being.
Leading the hand-over will be the Deputy Director General of the DBE, Ms Gugu Ndebele, who said: “This is not simply a curriculum issue, but also a lifestyle matter. Therefore, further opportunities for knowledge sharing regarding healthy lifestyles should be found even outside of the curriculum. The partnership with Nestlé has been fosteredspecifically for the advancement of that agenda, to support and realise the DBE’s strategic goal of ensuring the health and wellness of learners.”
“National Nutrition Week is not an event on its own. Whilst Nutrition Education is an on-going programme in the school curriculum, the National Nutrition Week is a heightened period for the department to reinforce Nutrition Education and entrench in schools evolving knowledge about healthy nutrition,” Ndebele concluded.
The Nestlé Healthy Kids Programme, which will be piloted in Gauteng and North West, aims to promote healthy lifestyles through initiatives on good nutrition targeted at school-going children between six and 12 years old, food handlers, teachers and parents. Teachers in Gauteng and North West will receive Nutrition Education learning material to help them educate learners about good nutrition practices. Nestlé and the DBE will host workshops for teachers to share best methods of teaching learners about good nutrition practices. The partnership also includes Nutrition Education days hosted at the Johannesburg Zoo since July 2012, which include a theatre production encouraging children to eat a balanced diet and get active.
“Education is a powerful tool to help children understand the value of nutrition and physical activity. Through our partnership with the DBE, we have identified that educating school children about the benefits of good nutrition will pave the way towards achieving our goal of nourishing Southern Africa.” said Nestlé South Africa’s Spokesperson, Ravi Pillay.
For Nestlé South Africa, this partnership is in line with the company’s Creating Shared Value business philosophy which states that for a business to be successful in the long term, it needs to create value for the communities where it operates.
All media is invited to join the launch as follows:
Venue: Nyorwe Primary School, Makapanstad, Bojanala District
Date: Friday 12 October 2012
Time: 10h30 to 14h00
RSVP: Monako.Dibetle@ZA.nestle.com
Basic Education and Nestlé South Africa partner to encourage healthy school children
