Words – Nadia Lubowski (Managing Trustee, Anton Lubowski Educational Trust)
Pictures – supplied
We often ask: Why are our schools failing? But perhaps it’s time to ask a better question: What do our schools need to succeed?
In conversations about educational reform, we tend to focus on curriculum, infrastructure, or assessment outcomes. Rarely do we stop to consider something more immediate: Has the child eaten today? And yet, no textbook or teaching strategy can compensate for a child trying to learn on an empty stomach.
Hunger is a silent saboteur in the classroom. It dulls focus, weakens memory, and lowers motivation. But the impact of nutrition goes beyond test scores. When children receive regular, nourishing meals, they not only perform better academically, but become more emotionally regulated, socially connected, and cognitively resilient.
Emerging science is uncovering something even more profound: the link between gut health and brain function. The gut — often referred to as the “second brain” — is home to trillions of bacteria that help produce key neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. These chemicals directly affect mood, attention, and learning capacity. A healthy gut microbiome equips a child to absorb and retain information, to engage meaningfully with the world around them.
And when we speak about nutrition, we mean real food: whole, nutritionally dense meals that offer variety and vitality. At the Anton Lubowski Educational Trust, this is what we provide — not just calories, but sustenance that supports growth and development.
Food is not separate from education. It is the foundation of it.
But nutrition is only one side of the coin. The other is teachers. We need to do more than respect teachers — we must reverence them. They are not just implementers of curriculum; they are custodians of our collective future. Each child they guide, each moment they give, holds the potential to change lives.
Yet teachers are often overburdened, underpaid, and asked to fulfil countless roles — educator, counsellor, caregiver, administrator — without sufficient support or recognition.
When we fail to invest in their personal well-being and professional growth, we risk more than burnout. We risk systemic breakdown. And we limit the potential of the very children we claim to prioritise.
What if we reimagined education as a reciprocal ecosystem — a partnership between student and teacher, family and community, environment and earth? What if feeding a child was not charity, but a strategic imperative? What if teacher development was not a budget line item, but the foundation of the entire system?
These are not radical questions. They are urgent ones.
The way forward is clear: we must nourish both body and mind. We must value and support our teachers. Because when we invest in children — and in those who teach and care for them — we don’t just build schools. We build futures. Whole, active citizens who care for themselves, for others, and for the earth.
Here’s how you can help:
• Donate new or gently used storybooks – Early literacy lays the foundation for future success. Storybooks spark imagination and a love for learning.
• Support our nutrition drive – Just R40 provides a nourishing hot meal via our soup kitchen, and R500 feeds a household of six for two weeks through our food parcel programme. Every contribution helps families focus, grow, and thrive.
Read more about ALET and Anton Lubowski’s legacy here https://www.alet.org.za/
