The actions of NGOs working at the community level in South Africa have resulted in clear improvements in maternal-child health and nutrition, as well as in the status of women. Nestlé South Africa has developed relationships over many years with a significant number of South Africa's major women's, health and nutrition organisations, including Save the Children Johannesburg, the South African Nutrition Society, the Institute of Primary Health Care, and EcoLink, an organisation devoted to sustainable development at the village level.

Rather than simply providing charitable contributions, the private sector often seeks to support efforts, which enable mothers and families to improve the conditions of their daily lives. This may involve partnerships with NGOs supporting projects aimed at providing access to clean water, adequate food, health education and health care facilities.

EcoLink: a United Nations "Women of Environment" Award Winner

Perhaps the most widely known programme is one with which Nestlé is involved is EcoLink. Nestlé provided the financial underpinning and management assistance to help get the organisation off the ground. EcoLink has developed proven methods for mobilising the community to create local sources of clean water, develop village gardens, which provide new sources of food and income, and at the same time clean up the environment.

People are first helped in accessing water sources which already exist but which are untapped. They are helped in identifying underground springs, many of which have been trampled underfoot by animals. The springs are capped with a simple stone and cement structure to prevent contamination and provide an opening through which clean water can be drawn.

Rainwater is harvested by building gutter systems on municipal health centres and other buildings. Using a simple methodology, large storage tanks are built and maintained, which can provide adequate clean water for an entire village.

To improve nutrition and provide a cash income, women in local communities are given educational demonstrations on how to set up vegetable gardens which make the best use of water and which have drainage systems using litter collected from around the village. This program, called Earthcare, has also been rolled out through local schools, so that young children can educate their families about using a small piece of land to grow high quality vegetables. It is estimated that the nutritional needs of over 150,000 families are now met by this program. Other successful approaches to increasing income have been the creation of broiler chicken raising projects, and seedling nurseries.

The success of the EcoLink project was recognised at the 1997 Earth Summit in Sao Paolo. Elsie Mpatianyane, project leader of EcoLink was honoured as one of the 25 'Women of the Environment' from around the world to commemorate the United Nations Environment Programme's 25th birthday.