By Nadia Hosni
Topaz and a South African high school student.
She didn’t have a choice. That’s how Topaz Page-Green describes the founding of her charity. It all started on a visit to a local South African high school when Topaz noticed some children sitting under a tree at lunchtime while the other kids played. She learned that some of the students didn’t have food to eat and so they would avoid the children who did. A simple thing like lunch put their education and social experiences on the line.
In 2004 the Lunchbox Fund was created as a simple intervention to provide free and healthy lunches to high school students. “Providing food to hungry students is an integral method for supporting them as they work toward obtaining their education, and breaking the poverty cycle,” says Topaz. The system of getting nutritious meals to these students also supports the community: Fresh bread is delivered daily by a local baker, invigorating community businesses, and the lunches are assembled by volunteers—sometimes the unemployed parents of the students, creating a positive chain effect in the village and encouraging parent’s involvement.
Topaz grew up at the end of a long dirt road on a seven-acre plot of land in Johannesburg, South Africa. “I remember apartheid, droughts, and poverty played a powerful role in our lives.” The dismantling of apartheid in 1994 had a huge effect on her. It instilled a sense of social awareness she continues to carry with her today, thousands of miles away in her New York home. “Social consciousness has always driven and inspired me. Change is about courage and committed action.”
And change she did. “I started the organization in response to witnessing the devastating effect that hunger was having on high-school children who were fighting against all odds simply to receive their education.” By raising money with events in New York and Los Angeles, Topaz has given students in four South African high schools a better chance at escaping poverty through education. The star-studded fund-raisers feature A-list celebrity names and custom-designed lunchboxes by celebrities and models alike. Iman and Helena Christensen have donated their creative genius to the cause—as well as former President Bill Clinton, who’s lunchbox fetched a whopping $40,000.
Topaz is looking to expand in the near future to touch more lives. “I would like to develop programs that encourage impoverished youth to access their full potential and take social responsibility.”
The need for food in South Africa is still great, yet Topaz is not daunted. “I feel a sense of awe at the great task ahead and continue to push forward. Onwards! is what I think to myself every morning as I wake up.” We share the sentiment!
Viewers can best support by donating to the Lunchbox Fund at: www.thelunchboxfund.org
Check it out! Topaz and her friend Nicole Laliberte have signed up to run the New York City Marathon on November 1, 2009, with a goal of raising $150,000. Help sponsor her team, 1.21 GIGAWATTS, by donating online here.
See more photos of Topaz’s visit to South Africa here.
