KEEPING YOUNG HEARTS BEATING HEALTHY IN SOUTH AFRICA
Congratulations to The Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa who will, this year, celebrate the 11th Anniversary of their Children’s Programme, which was established to instil healthy habits from a young age.
Since its formation in 1997, the Programme has reached over 1.9 million disadvantaged children from informal settlements throughout South Africa “We are extremely proud of this achievement, which plays a vital role in the fight against heart disease in our future generation” said Robert de Souza, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa.
The Programme aims to educate children from disadvantaged areas, their teachers, parents, and child minders by providing heart health education and concentrating on capacity building. “To prevent heart disease in adults, we must start encouraging a healthy lifestyle in our children from a young age. It is much easier to change bad habits and get into a good routine when young, rather than wait until these habits have become too ingrained”, explained Michelle Kearney, Communications Director, The Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa.
The focus is on crèche-aged children (3-6 years), more recently extending to primary school children, in the previously disadvantaged areas. Modules include nutrition, exercise, the effect of smoking, basic hygiene, HIV and Rheumatic Fever awareness. The material is presented in four languages - English, Afrikaans, Xhosa and Zulu.
Many of the crèches feed the children their only meal of the day. An informal survey found that they focused on providing bulk rather than nutrition. Qualified dieticians from the Heart and Stroke Foundation offer counselling to assist with menu planning within available budgets. The project also developed the “Sow-a-Seed” concept, whereby crèches grow fruits and vegetables so that healthy food is available. This part of the project recently won the Louise Lown “Heart Hero” Award for Childcare, which Robert de Souza hopes will enable the programme to attract international funding in order to expand the programme to the rest of Africa. In the meantime, the Heart and Stroke Foundation has taken the decision to help fund members from other heart foundations on the continent to come to South Africa and learn from their crèche programme. “It is only through continued funding and support that the Heart and Stroke Foundation can succeed in reaching the next million children, thereby helping to ensure that the future generations of South Africa will be heart healthy” said Kearney.
For more information on the Children’s Programme: www.heartfoundation.co.za; or email: heart(at)heartfoundation.co.za
