The Grow Africa Foundation & De Grendel unite to change children’s lives. What does a historic wine farm in Cape Town have in common with a luxury eco-lodge in Zimbabwe? You may think it’s a commitment to providing their patrons with a divinely indulgent experience where attention to detail and exceptional service are key, and while that may be true, the actual link is stronger and more meaningful.
De Grendel wine estate has a particular passion for contributing to Early Childhood Development (ECD) and youth education in disadvantaged communities. They have invested heavily in the education of the farm labourers and their children but had a yearning to impact even more lives. This is where the partnership with Hideaways came about. “Education is one of the most important tools that can be used to break the cycle of poverty…” One of the biggest obstacles to children’s education in rural Zimbabwe is a lack of resources. Families survive on as little as $2 a day and often struggle to make ends meet. Education is one of the most important tools that can be used to break the cycle of poverty but school fees need to be paid and sometimes there simply isn’t enough money at the end of the month after covering basics such as food and shelter. The school cannot waive fees as they too need to cover operating costs and pay teachers’ salaries.
Grow Africa assists in whatever way they can, from helping out with maintenance of the school building itself to providing Life Skills workshops to the Gr 6 and 7 learners. The school has identified that a pressing issue for them is Early Childhood Development, as this is where the foundations are laid for a successful education. Once this need was identified, the Grow Africa Foundation strategised on how best we can impact change. The outcome was two projects that we introduced last year, firstly the sponsorship of an ECD teacher at the school as well as the full scholarships of Dingani learners. We fund this either through donations from generous benefactors and through our Sponsorship Pledge (where we sponsor the school fees of one Dingani child for one year for every booking of 3 nights or more received at Elephant’s Eye, Hwange). “This partnership is an amazing manifestation of shared goals and beliefs.”
De Grendel has recently become one of our most benevolent benefactors by generously donating $3000 to cover the school fees of 20 Dingani learners for 1 year and sponsoring a year’s salary for our ECD teacher, Yolanda Ncube. This partnership is an amazing manifestation of shared goals and beliefs. Both De Grendel and Hideaways care deeply about making a positive impact in the areas they operate in. With the Grow Africa Foundation, Hideaways has managed to make some incredible differences in the Dete community but there is still lots more work to be done. We can be so much more effective when partnering with like-minded organisations, we are incredibly grateful to De Grendel for this partnership. We see it as the beginning of a beautiful relationship that will go a long way in changing the lives of the communities we are part of.
