Visitors flocked to Lushof, a stonefruit and top-fruit farm in South Africa’s Ceres Valley, last week, when Waitrose director of commerce Richard Hodgson opened a brand-new community centre on the site.
The Waitrose Foundation, a partnership created in 2005 to improve the lives of farm workers who grow and pick South Africa’s citrus, mangoes, avocados, grapes, top fruit and stonefruit, has ploughed £18,000 into the centre.
“I am very proud to be a part of this initiative, which is making a real difference to the lives of workers on fruit farms,” said Hodgson. “Opening this community centre marks the 58th project on South African farms to have been funded by the Waitrose Foundation since its establishment.”
Funding is generated from the sale of Waitrose fruit marked with the Foundation logo, and proceeds are spent on projects that directly benefit farm workers.
Chris Hans, a farm worker on Lushof and a director of the neighbouring Leopont Properties, thanked the representatives from Waitrose, Produce World, British & Brazilian, Worldwide Fruit and Green Marketing for their contributions towards the Waitrose Foundation’s donation.
“We are extremely grateful to the foundation, as our children now have a place where they can receive after-school care and where they can do their homework,” he said. “The facility also has a computer room, which provides the farm children with access to the internet, and also provides the opportunity for adult literacy training.”
Hans also thanked the owner of Lushof, Robert Graaff, for arranging for the upgrade of the facility on the workers’ behalf.
The Waitrose Foundation has provided a scholarship for Marco Roy, the son of one of the farm workers, to study accounting at Stellenbosch University, and is also sponsoring a squash training programme for the children of Lushof’s farm workers.
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