Join the fight against child stunting: support Grootswem 2025

Over a year ago, Org van der Wath, the founder and managing director of StartWell Foundation, took on the extreme challenge of cold-water swimming to raise awareness about a silent crisis affecting millions — child stunting.

It’s a problem that’s not only unjust, but also one that affects our daily lives and will continue to burden the future we leave for our children and grandchildren. Millions of South Africans are unaware that nearly 30% of South African children’s brains and bodies aren’t developing fully.

Right now, more than 2 million of our +/- 7million children under the age of five in South Africa are affected. To put it into perspective: If they were to stand in a line, holding hands, they would stretch from Cape Town to Musina on the Zimbabwe border. To see them all, you’d have to drive for 20 hours at 100km/h. The scale is staggering.

The consequences of child stunting are severe and long-lasting. These children will struggle to concentrate in school, solve problems, and control their impulses. They will be physically shorter than they should be according to their genetic potential, and will carry the burden of metabolic illnesses.

These impairments are permanent, and their children are likely to experience stunting too .The good news is that child stunting is 100% preventable. There are examples of countries that have already successfully reduced their stunting rates from 40% to 12% in less than a decade.

The root cause? Limited access to bio-available proteins during critical stages of early childhood development — specifically from 6 months to 2 years, but it can also extend to the ages of 3 to 5 years.

The World Health Organisation has made it clear: babies, infants and small children need access to very specific nutrients for healthy growth. It narrows down that proteins are the building blocks of growth.

We all know that gym enthusiasts rely on protein to build muscle, and farmers understand the importance of quality protein to raise healthy livestock. This same principle applies to our children.

An infant grows at a rate of 1mm every 3 days, which adds up to about 10mm per month. Equally important, a one-year-old child's brain — or grey matter — increases by 50ml every 4 weeks.

For their brains and bodies to develop, they need bio-available proteins from animal sources like dairy, eggs, chicken, meat, and fish. Yet in many poor communities, children go for weeks without these crucial nutrients. They survive on plant-based diets like vegetables, porridges, rice, potatoes, bread, polony and soya.

When children are deprived of animal-sourced proteins, their bodies draw from reserves, leading to stunting. This lack of protein is the root cause of the problem.

In 2018, Org  founded the StartWell Foundation with the goal of eliminating child stunting in South Africa, focusing on children from resource-poor households and communities.

StartWell Foundation design, produce, and deliver ready-to-eat, protein-rich meals to creches, pre-schools, and feeding schemes. They also educate families on the importance of including small amounts of animal-sourced foods in their children’s diets — as well as children need to eat first, as their brains and bodies are forming during a crucial very short window of growth.

GrootSwem 2025 - A Call to Action:

This year, Org is once again preparing for the GrootSwem crossing from Robben Island to Bloubergstrand — a grueling 7.5km swim in the cold Atlantic waters during the week of March 24 to March 28.

As Org says: “Cold-water swimming is not for ‘sissies’; I’ll admit, it’s definitely not for ‘boeties’ either. But thischallenge is about more than just personal endurance. It’s about raising funds andawareness for the children who need us most.”

Once again, the StartWell Foundation has partnered with King Price Insurance to host GrootSwem2025. The goal is to raise funds to provide protein-rich meals to children and increase awareness about child stunting in South Africa.

Every donation counts... for every R1 000 they raise, StartWell Foundation can feed one child for an entire year. Your contribution can help change the future for these children, giving them the nutrition they need to thrive, break the cycle of stunting, and grow into healthy, capable adults.

Support them by visiting their website at www.startwellfoundation.org or follow them on Instagram at StartWell Foundation to donate and learn more.