With our weekly #FeelGood interview, we spoke to a teacher at Elnor Primary School in Elsies River, Dillon Henwood, who made headlines on several news outlets, such as Netwerk24 for the feeding scheme where he provides food to the hungry children in his school on a daily basis.
Over the December holidays, when most teachers were on holiday, Dillon arrived at school each morning at 08:00 to give cereal to about 400 hungry children. Each day of the long school holiday Dillon was there, sometimes in the afternoon, to give spaghetti Bollognaise, with chicken curry to these children who don’t have food at home. He knew that if it wasn’t for him, the children would starve over the holidays.
Read our full interview with Henwood below:
1. After graduation you had the opportunity to give class at many fancy schools, such as Curro. Why did you choose a school in Elsies Rivier, despite knowing the risk?
I chose to teach in Elsies River after having walked through the community with the school principal on the day of my interview. I observed the extreme poverty and harsh conditions in which the community lives. I met a few of the school children in the street, and immediately felt as though I need to be teaching in Elsies River.
2. On weekends you spend time working and feeding hungry children in Elsies River. What inspired you to do this?
A learner in my class who was constantly in trouble for stealing food inspired the feeding project. I quickly realised that he was not the only one without food. In fact, 363 learners initially registered for the feeding scheme.
3. Describe the living conditions of the children in your class, for those who don’t understand what it is like.
Some of them live in very harsh conditions. Many children live in wendy houses or shacks, and they usually share these residences with many other people. Many of these children do not have bathroom facilities and depend on the government grant, SASSA, which pays R410 per month which is supposed to cover all their monthly expenses.
4. How many children do you feed on average a week? And how much money do you need to feed all these kids?
During the school holidays, we give out between 400 and 650 meals per day. These cost approximately R5 each.
5. How can people make a contribution to you or the feeding scheme?
Donations of any amount can be made to a bank account dedicated to the feeding scheme. Anyone interested in making a donation can contact me on any of my social media pages or via email: dillonhenwood95@gmail.com
For the full interview of Dillon Henwood on Tussen Ons, click here
