When a canoe club realised that children were lagging in competitions due to poor nutrition, a community of parents stepped up to make a heartwarming difference!
Johannesburg, South Africa (14 July 2024) — Sometimes the biggest impact comes from everyday people who simply decided to add a little relief, lighten a load, and make the road ahead (or in the case of Dabulamanzi Canoe Club, the dam ahead) less trying for those around them.
For the past three months, the Gauteng water racing scene has been abuzz with activity as the Dabulamanzi Canoe Club shares. From the buildup to the SA Sprints followed by the exhilarating Gauteng Marathon Series to the 2024 SA Marathon Canoe Championships, it was a long 12-week stretch of racing, which the SCARC Team showed up to time and time again; participating in every race and ultimately claiming the biggest club entries for most of the races.
Every Thursday evening for six weeks after the time trials at Dabulamanzi, the SCARC trailer would be loaded with boats while the bus prepared to collected teams from their homes around Soweto as early as 4:30am; causing great excitement for the children as a signal of the weekend starting.
However, a few days into the Marathon series revealed an observation—the team was not doing well. The Dabulamanzi Chairman spoke to a couple of the children to find out more, and came to discover that the reason for the team’s lag was not a lack of skill or effort, but that the children’s nutritional needs were not being met. This to the point that some were even enduring degrees of very low blood sugar.
After some brainstorming sessions, it was agreed that immediate action needed to be taken for the children’s overall well-being.
While the SCARC had a Race Nutrition drive, it needed funding. Ridge Parents came to learn of the double-whammy dilemma and didn’t hesitate to help out. After a final meeting, the Ridge Parents put on their hero capes for the Canoe Club and raised funds so that a proper nutrition plan and meals could be prepared!
Soon, special breakfast and lunch packs were available from a local food store so the children would be able to access a healthy start to the day and a meal after their race.
But, this was only the beginning of even more change! A programme where 230 SARC family members receive a monthly food parcel is running thanks to Dabulamanzi member Sean Martin and a company focused on health who are funding the programme for the year ahead!
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