Jaqueline’s Story

Jaqueline’s Story

43-year-old Jaqueline has called Jakkalsvlei farm in Clanwilliam home for the past 15 years. With a passion for working with children, she was delighted when the farm owner asked her to look after the little ones during the day while their parents were out working on the farm. A cosy room on the farm was set aside where Jaqueline could create a safe, nurturing space for the children to play, learn, and grow.

It wasn’t long before Jaqueline realised the children needed more than just supervision. She noticed that some of them didn’t have enough food, particularly towards the end of the month when their parents could no longer afford groceries.

Concerned, Jaqueline approached the farm owner and asked if Pebbles Project could assist: “I saw the amazing work Pebbles was doing with the Driscoll’s Mobile Health Clinic that visits our farm each week. I thought, maybe Pebbles could help feed our children too.”

The farm owner, reached out to Pebbles Project, and soon arrangements were made for the children on Jakkalsvlei farm to receive daily meals through the Pebbles Project Nutrition Service.

Nutritious meals are prepared in the Pebbles Kitchen; Pebbles Project’s dedicated food preparation facility in Stellenbosch. Nutritious meals are carefully prepared and blast-frozen to maintain freshness and nutritional value before being transported to farms in the Pebbles Nutrition Service refrigerated vehicle. The meals are stored in a chest freezer on the farm, and Jaqueline warms them up daily. “I’m so happy that the food is already cooked, I just have to heat it up,” she says.

Providing meals to the children has made a world of difference. “It’s such a joy to give the children a proper meal each day. They get so excited at lunchtime; they love the food!” says Jaqueline.

She adds, “Everyone on the farm speaks so highly of Pebbles. The work Pebbles does really touches my heart, the way they reach out and help others. The people at Pebbles really look after us.”

*This story captures a period in the beneficiary’s journey during their involvement with Pebbles Project and reflects their circumstances at the time it was written.