Young children in South Africa are more likely to live in poverty, suffer from food insecurity and malnutrition, and die before their fifth birthday than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. This is according to the South African Early Childhood Review 2024, which tracks data on the status of children under six years, and is jointly published…
As the dust settles on the recent elections, it is time for the new administration to confront a silent catastrophe that has plagued our nation for far too long – the malnutrition crisis. The haunting statistics reveal a grim reality: over 1.5 million children in South Africa suffer from stunted growth, a reflection of the…
Grow Great, a campaign committed to mobilising South Africa to halve stunting in young children by 2030, convened a diverse group of Community Health Care Workers on Friday in Diepsloot South to honour and acknowledge their invaluable contributions as everyday heroes. In her opening remarks, Grow Great Executive Director Dr Edzani Mphaphuli stated, “The role…
Work as a unit and focus on supporting and caring for each other as colleagues. That is the advice of the winning Community Health Worker (CHW) in the 2021 Super League, Dikeledi Sehlabane, to all other CHWs in the Grow Great Champions (GGC) network. Sehlabane finished top of the table with a whopping 110 820…
Born in Phiva at Mpumalanga, Vusimuzi Msibi, always knew that he was destined to care for those around him. The first of four siblings, Vusi had to take on the responsibilities of his parents after they passed away. “I am a mother, father and brother to those left with me,” he says. His passion for…
Within seconds of walking into the room where the 14 members of the Bashise Ndlondlo Grow Great Champions (GGC) club are sitting, one can almost sense the spirit of togetherness in the air. All wearing their GGC T-shirts, their faces beam with pride as they explain how the club got its name. “Our coach’s surname…
The Reaphedisa Grow Great Champions CHW Club, which comprised Nicolene Mohale, Mavis Selotole and Elsinah Mohale achieved a feat that some would consider nearly impossible last year [2018]. The team was named Limpopo’s club of the year, despite it having only four members at the time. It is one of the smallest Grow Great Champions…
Rose Mpika, of the Siyakhulisa GGC team of CHWs, was elated when she found out that she was named Mpumalanga’s top performing CHW. “I was thrilled because it showed that the work I had been doing had at least received some recognition. That has given me the strength to continue doing what I do,” she…
