Q & A with The Lunch Box Fund

We like getting to know the people behind the non-profit organisations that we partner with. Today, Sue Wildish (pictured, top left), Managing Director of The Lunchbox Fund, tells us more about managing a non-profit organisation.

 

In 10 words or fewer, what is the idea behind The Lunchbox Fund?

We provide a behavioural incentive for children to attend school.

 

What is the best advice you’ve ever received (in the context of a Non-Profit Organisation)?

Gillian Wilkinson, a lifetime educator, Lunchbox Fund director and mentor to our founder Topaz Page-Green, told her early on: “Start with 100 children for one year. Then we will see from there.” She knew that a manageable goal would mean constructing manageable steps. Which would lead to sustainability and manageable growth. We have kept that sage advice at the heart of what we do — and that has informed our expansion. Today we serve a hot lunch to 14,000 children every school day.

 

What advice would you give those wanting to work for, or start, a Non-Profit Organisation?

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. Start small — grow from there. And make sure you take care of your corporate governance and finances.

 

What, in your mind, has been The Lunchbox Fund’s biggest success?

Creating a simple, easily scalable working model that addresses an immediate need in a sustainable way. We have a clear focus. We keep our eyes firmly on that and don’t try to address every ‘want’ that we come across. Because that would dilute our intention. We are frugal. We don’t have expensive overheads. We don’t have a complex system of working parts. We outsource to experts where we need to. I think we have been able to grow as we have because of all of these things. We are a lean and easily manoeuvrable team.

 

What have you/your organisation learnt from mistakes that may have been made?

Rather than mistakes – I would say we have made discoveries. Our initial focus was only on the provision of nutrition programs. But then we found that some schools needed assistance in the hire of food preparers. Otherwise they would not have been able to handle the cooking. However – they did not have the financial wherewithal to pay someone to help. So now, if a school has over 80 children, we assist with the employment of a Food Mama. Not something that was in our original remit — but an empowerment that fits right into what we believe. These ladies are always previously unemployed women drawn from within the immediate school parent body or local community. We pay them a monthly stipend, every month of the year. This allows them to plan their financial lives and support their families in a sustainable way.

 

In what way would you like The Lunchbox Fund to impact South Africa?

Almost every culture has a similar idiom: “an empty stomach has no ears”. Children who don’t have enough to eat cannot work toward an education. And, without an education their future prospects are severely limited. Serving a hot meal at school each day provides a behavioural incentive for a child to attend school, and for his parents to keep him at school. Once they are in school, they are in place for an education, and with an education, they have the possibility of a future. Over 13-million people in South Africa go to bed hungry every day. And a single educated child in a family can take his or her entire family out of poverty within a generation. So in addressing the immediacy of a hungry child — we are also addressing the future of our country. Ultimately – our goal is to provide a hot meal at school each school day to every child in South Africa who needs one.

 

Have you met any people or heard any stories that have inspired you to do the work that you do? If so, please tell us a little more.

One of the young scholars who was among the first 100 children that The Lunchbox Fund served was awarded a full scholarship bursary to attend WITS to study Engineering. He is an orphan, and lived alone, in unbelievably hard circumstances. The headmistress of his school firmly believes that the meal he received each day at school kept him coming when times were tough. It fuelled his determination to learn and gave him ears. He will graduate soon and go into his community and carry what he has learned forward. His children will benefit, his employers and employees, too. And ultimately — the country will benefit from an invested and educated population. Pretty good work to be doing!

 

Why did you decide to do the work that you do?

I worked in the US and UK for 20 years — for a huge corporation. I was burning out so I quit and then had to figure out what to do next. I knew I didn’t want that kind of pressure/stress anymore. But I did want to do something that was worthwhile and that would engage me fully… I had met Nelson Mandela in 2001 – and he said to me: “It’s time to take what you have learned and come back home.” So I did. In 2007 a friend asked me to run an NGO that worked to eradicate the stigma that still surrounds HIV/AIDS. We spent time in schools and I saw, close up, the impact that the virus and poverty were having on SA’s children. That work, and the people I met on the way, re-introduced me to my country and clarified what was needed. So, when Topaz offered me this job four years later – I jumped at it.