A Child’s Right to Education
A preschool morning in Witbank begins with something deceptively simple: a meal, a welcome, a motherly voice saying, “You belong here.”
Children’s school bags neatly hung outside the classroom at Nonhle Day Care Preschool.
She is known affectionately as Mam Faith. “Mam” comes from Mama, meaning mother – a name given to her because she has become that figure for generations of children. Since 1994, Buyisile Ntshangase has been opening doors through the Nonhle Day Care Preschool, refusing to let hunger or poverty decide who gets to learn.
Her centres are not just classrooms. They are places where dignity is restored, where children who cannot afford school fees are still fed and taught, and where more than 74 learners arrive each day knowing they will be cared for.
Watch as Mam Faith shares her story.
A Plate Before the Pencil
In South Africa, hunger is not only a household problem. It walks into classrooms, sits beside learners, and steals concentration. It becomes an education problem.
Mam Faith’s preschool proves that food is not charity – it is infrastructure for learning. A meal at school restores attention, reduces the noise of hunger, and gives children the strength to learn, play, and grow.
SA Harvest’s Commitment in Witbank
When SA Harvest supports Mam Faith, we are not simply delivering food parcels. We are strengthening a system. Weekly food donations and the installation of a Mobile Kitchen are turning her preschool into a hub of resilience.
Every delivery of rescued food saves funds that can be redirected into rent, staff, and educational materials. This is how logistics become empowerment. This is how food rescue becomes a lever for futures.
The Context We Cannot Ignore
Against this backdrop, Mam Faith’s preschool is rewriting the story. By tackling food insecurity, offering safe spaces, and acting as a trusted link between families and government services, she is showing what happens when communities refuse to let hunger be the loudest voice in the room.
A Hub of Rights and Resilience
Her kitchen is more than bricks. It is a promise. Built with bricks she made herself, it now anchors a preschool that hosts mobile clinics, Home Affairs services, and daily meals.
Her work embodies a child rights‑based approach, where children are recognised as rights‑holders and leaders as duty‑bearers. By empowering families, she is creating a cycle of sustainable development where beneficiaries themselves become leaders. In this way, Mam Faith has truly shaped generations.
Looking Ahead: Mpumalanga Strategy
By prioritising beneficiaries like Mam Faith, SA Harvest is anchoring its Mpumalanga footprint in education‑driven, community‑owned solutions. Her preschool is not just a feeding programme. It serves as a blueprint for how communities can build their futures when provided with the right support.
The SA Harvest truck delivering food at Nonhle Day Care
Calling Mam Faith our “best beneficiary in Witbank” is not just recognition. It is a statement of intent. It signals our commitment to backing sustainability and education in Mpumalanga, and to seeing local champions as the cornerstone of systemic change.
Support More Preschools Like Mam Faith’s
You can help us reach more children by supporting SA Harvest’s mission:
To contribute rescued food to strengthen community feeding programmes:
To empower us to expand logistics, kitchens, and educational support across Mpumalanga and beyond:
