Local rugby club donates cereal to school in Mitchell’s Plain

When Ryan Hartnick (40) started his schooling in 1990 at Caradale Primary School in Rocklands he never thought one day he would be teaching at the school himself one day or, for that matter, helping to feed the learners through his rugby club.

Hartnick, his brother Lance and Ethan Maart all play for Van der Stel-Evergreens Rugby Club in Stellenbosch in Super League C this year, and they are three of the 34 teachers at the school.

“The club received a sponsorship of 10 boxes of Weetbix from Meals on Wheels in Parow and one of its managers asked if any of the schools in Mitchell’s Plain were in need of a donation,” Hartnick related.

“I mentioned the feeding scheme at our school and explained with the donation of Weetbix the learners could have Weetbix one day and mealie meal the next day. We have 1 061 learners and most of them travel daily by bus from Mitchell’s Plain or Khayelitsha to school and receive a meal daily at school.”

Caradale, which opened its doors in 1984, is a public school where learners are from disadvantaged backgrounds and don’t pay school fees.

The three teachers who joined Van der Stel-Evergreens Rugby Club in Stellenbosch are from left :Ryan Hartnick Clayton Soules Yusuf Adams, Ethan Maart Lance Hartnick and Lance Dyson with the donation of weetbix for Caradale Primary School.

Principal Ezra Carelse was very appreciative of the donation because the learners will have Weetbix one day and mealiemeal the next.

Most of the learners are travelling from their homes through various modes of transport, and when taxis or buses are on strike, they stay at home without the one meal they receive at school.

“When I was a learner at the school we received sandwiches with peanut butter or mixed-fruit jam on brown bread,” Hartnick recalled. “The current feeding scheme at Caradene primary opened in 2004 and we make sure each learner gets one meal a day.

“When we joined VDE at the beginning of the year we heard from our teammates the welfare of the players is important. At the club, one is not only a player, but one can share one’s needs with management and they’ll try to assist. With the donation, we as players and teachers at the school are contributing to them having a meal a day.”

Last year, the club also donated Weetbix to schools in Klapmuts and Kraaifontein.