Albert Dove - Youth Village, Feeding Scheme beneficiary

Forté High School Feeding Scheme

Forte High School in Dobsonville, Soweto, Joahnnesburg, South Africa has partnered with the Youth Village project run by the International Association for Human Values in South Africa. The Youth Village project adopted and manages the schools Feeding Scheme.

Albert Dove graduated with 6 distinctions from Forté High School in December 2011. He will be studying Electrical Engineering at the University of Witwatersrand. Albert will be the first in his family to attend university as a full-time student. He shared the following:

"All deeds may perish but good deeds remain"

First and foremost, on behalf of the beneficiaries which are the learners of the school who partake at the school’s feeding scheme: We would like to acknowledge and thank our former principal Mr. Ngapo for introducing Aneshree Naidoo from The Art of Living Foundation to our school. The steps you took and the choices you made will truly and conveniently benefit us and the school itself. We are very grateful for your deeds. Your efforts and actions will surely not be forgotten. It is a blessing to attend school at Forté.

“Blessed is the hand that gives than the hand that receives"

We would as well like to thank our sponsor for responding to the need of the school very positively and effectively. Your efforts have not gone to waste and will not do so as long as you continue to be with us. Sometimes the results may not be very clear, but I would like to assure you that we (the learners) who partake at the school’s feeding scheme always have smiles on our faces. We’ve got hope for our future.

"Purpose is the importance of one’s existence"

I would like to bring a clear vision of how the learners benefit from the feeding scheme and why it is important to have one. I will therefore create this context by referring to myself, that if I had enough food in my stomach:

• I will not go out and steal from other children or go and gamble at the streets.

• I will not go out and seek a girlfriend or boyfriend who is going to give me money to buy some food so that I can pay them back with myself.

• I will be able to concentrate at school during lessons and therefore perform well and from that performance my future will be bright and full of opportunities that lie ahead of me.

• I will have enough energy to remain after school so that I can take part in sport that I love. Like the other children I will go out and win medals for my school and for my future as well.

• I will not run away from home and become a street kid.

• I will not smoke drugs to keep away stress of not having food at home.

• I will not be emotionally imbalanced saying that God is punishing me and will not attempt to commit suicide.

• I will want to keep it that way by working hard towards my future and most of all.

• I will always smile knowing that what I ate at Forte High School was very delicious and satisfying and from that I therefore will glorify God.

That is why it is very crucial for a school to have a feeding scheme, so that the world may become a better place. This is how we benefit from the school and the convenience of having a better and healthy life. I am very humbled to say that I also volunteered to help at the feeding scheme, Ms. Linoko and Ms. Tsheko are the parents that I work with and they cook very nicely and I would like to acknowledge them as well.

The learners who partake there also feel very thankful and grateful for what the school has done for them.

And lastly, I would love to say that "Let us do unto others, what we would love them to do for us, doing good".