Ever heard of Peacejam? Well, if you have not, it is well worth learning about. Peacejam is an international organisation with the mission to create young leaders committed to positive change in themselves, their communities, and the world through the inspiration of Nobel Peace Laureates who pass on the spirit, skills, and wisdom they embody.
Peacejammers, as this band of people are called, therefore have the aim to inspire and educate wherever they can. Peacejam has been working in South Africa for some years, but due to funding restraints the programmes have been restricted in recent times.
Due to the efforts of the biggest Peacejammer of all, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the initiative is now gaining new momentum in South Africa. It is significant that one of the first events was a youth conference in Cape Town hosted on Archbishop Tutu’s 85th birthday and chaired by fellow Nobel peace laureate Betty Williams from Ireland.
For companies in the South African fruit industry this represented an opportunity to share some of their harvest with the 200 young people assembled from some of Cape Town’s most needy areas.
Eurofruit’s South African representative, Fred Meintjes, enlisted the help of well-known personalities, Freek Dreyer of Zest Fruit and Wikus Hellmann of Green Marketing, both members of the Circle of Friends initiative of which Archbishop Tutu is the custodian, to source fruit to be distributed during the conference. Well-known Citrusdal citrus grower ALG Estates also became involved.
Lavinia Crawford-Brown, who coordinated the event, says Nobel peace laureate Betty Williams challenged the youth to commit themselves to serve their communities and service in promoting peace. Young people from low income regions in the Cape Peninsula, such as Ocean View, Masiphumelele in Noordhoek and the surrounding areas participated. Peacejammers entertained the children from Bosdorp, a community of farm workers who live in the Tokai forest, giving them a party with packets of fruit to take home with them.
This is not the first time that the fresh produce industry have supported Archbishop Tutu and his initiatives in recognition of his support for farm initiatives and farms where workers and growers have entered into new land-sharing initiatives.
The Sharon Fruit industry has made annual donations to the clinics of the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, while companies such as Betko, Tru-Cape, Van Doorn and ALG Estates have also support children’s homes and needy communities who are supported by 'the Arch'.
Sadly, this time Archbishop Tutu could not be there himself to inspire with his usual charm and enthusiasm, as he was recovering at home from recent medical problems.
