WATCH: Cape Flats youngsters feeding the community empower in inspirational documentary

CAPE TOWN - Notorious for gangs, violence and drugs, it is unusual for youngsters in the Elsies River community to start a food garden.

But Valentino de Klerk, who co-founded Feed the Future 4 Life with his brother, Geronimo - a non-profit organisation consisting of a group of young people on a path to transform their communities through gardening - said they wanted to change their reality.

The 20-year-old said they started the organisation to transform the mindset of the youth to look beyond their background.

“We grew up in poverty and violence and that is not the reality we wanted for ourselves, we want to change that reality. We know all about our struggles, we don’t want to talk about it anymore, we want to do something about it and make a difference,” he said.

The youngsters’ community gardens sustain various feeding schemes and schools in the Elsies River community.

“We do realise that not all communities have access to food, many of our communities are facing unemployment. That is why Feed The Future wants to ensure that we can support communities with vegetables through the food gardens we implement in our local communities and schools,” he said.

Their documentary Garden Boyz came out this month, and follows their journey of trying to change the narrative associated with the youth in the Cape Flats.

As well as to showcase that Elsies River is more than just gangs, drugs and crime, it is filled with young people who are able to “create opportunities for themselves”.

Community activist Yashmeen Khan said the youngsters were an inspiration to all.

“These young men, in spite of limited access and support, have demonstrated remarkable resourcefulness and resilience creating successful food gardens, in open spaces and schools. They are a real inspiration to all – true heroes. I wish them all the best in going from strength to strength,” she said.

The documentary can be watched here:

Cape Times