The children of the world are innocent, vulnerable and dependent. They are also curious, active and full of hope. Their childhood should be one of joy and peace, of playing, learning and growing. Their future should be shaped in harmony and co-operation. Their lives should mature, as they broaden their perspectives and gain new experiences. But for many children, the reality of childhood is altogether different. Food, or the lack of it, is one of the factors affecting the nutritional status of children in South Africa.

Fact: 1 in 5 children in South Africa go to bed hungry each night.

Danone Clover believes that action is the answer - action that is within the grasp of people themselves. If only they are shown how.

In-line with Danone Clover's international mission statement - 'To bring health through food to as many people as possible' - in South Africa, the Danone Clover Kids 'Caring for Our Children' campaign has now aligned itself with the Food Gardens Foundation which will focus on children and nutrition in particular. Danone Clover, producer of yoghurt and other dairy products, while still supporting CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation, has added the Food Gardens Foundation to its corporate social responsibility portfolio of beneficiaries.

CHOC brings together the parents of children who suffer from all varieties of cancer or life threatening blood disorders. Danone Clover, over the past five years, has created five much needed sanctuaries, Bloemfontein, Soweto, Cape Town, Pretoria and East London for the accommodation of children who are being treated for cancer.

This year, the campaign's main emphasis is on the Food Gardens Foundation which approaches childcare from the aspect of sustainable healthy nutrition and self-help. The organisation, which was established in 1977, teaches people how to establish and maintain their own food gardens on plots of land as small as a door - two metres by a metre. Even such a small piece of properly tended garden can support nine rows of vegetables grown with very little water. Carrots, spinach, tomatoes and other nutritious crops are ideal for these tiny food gardens, as more and more people are discovering.

Even though Food Gardens Foundation supports the needy through education and seed, the organisation depends heavily on contributions. Hence Danone Clover's adoption of Food Gardens Foundation as an additional beneficiary for this year's Danone Clover Kids 'Caring for Our Children' campaign.

For the initial roll out, Danone Clover has chosen disadvantaged schools that currently receive limited support. Also taken into account will be the number of children who can benefit as well as their vulnerability. Priority will be given to schools in which the children include many orphans, abused children, child heads of households, and so on.

The Food Gardens Foundation, together with Danone Clover will then implement the trench-bed method of food gardening at the schools as it has been in successful use for over 25 years. It is sustainable and environmentally friendly and uses natural resources and waste to provide nutrients and water for the garden.

The Food Gardens Foundation will give the schools a two-day training course and continued coaching and support for each garden, with eight visits a year. Able children, parents and teachers will all participate in the creation and maintenance of the gardens.

They will be helped to choose what to plant, using the SADC Seed Sowing Guide. There are six different vegetation types and four different seasons to consider when deciding what to plant, where to plant, and when to plant.

The benefits include sustainability, skills development and empowerment of each school and local community, and children will benefit in particular through the alleviation of hunger and malnutrition.

'We aim to raise funds for Food Gardens Foundation,' says Stéphane Jacqmin, Marketing Director at Danone Clover. 'With that kind of aid, Food Gardens Foundation, together with Danone Clover will be able to help create urgently required food gardens in underprivileged schools, primarily to feed these vulnerable children, increasing the quantity and quality of their meals and subsequently providing a sustainable livelihood for them now and into the future.'

'For every Danone Clover product, including yoghurt, dairy-fruit juice blend, maas, and Ultramel custard purchased during the winter months of June and July, consumers will be contributing to the creation of much needed sustainable food gardens. We shall be marketing the Danone Clover Kids 'Caring for Our Children' campaign as usual to the nation's generous consumers, who we know will support this cause with their shopping choices. Additional ways to contribute to the campaign will be made available to consumers on the Danone Clover website - www.danoneclover.co.za.'

'We believe that through this campaign, consumers can make a real difference on all levels. Through supporting and contributing to the Danone Clover Kids 'Caring for Our Children' campaign, kids can start to be kids in spite of their circumstances. The successful creation of food gardens in schools will assist in feeding approximately 200 000 school children annually, alleviating childhood hunger on a daily basis. Assisting with feeding a hungry child and creating wholesome nutrition is essential in South Africa today, as no child deserves to go to bed hungry,' concludes Jacqmin.

Danone Clover sees its support of Food Gardens Foundation as an invaluable way in which to ensure more South African children can enjoy the right to nutritious food.