Joey Plaatjies knows what a difficult childhood means and what the consequences might be. Ever since his arrival on Kleinood he has been involved and concerned about the welfare of the children of the Blaauwklippen valley. He spent a lot of time and energy exploring the different avenues in which he and the farm could be actively involved in improving the lives of these children and giving them reasons and the tools to survive their often troubled lives.

In February 2010 Kleinood spoke to the headmasters of the two Jamestown schools where most of these children go. The Weber Gedenk Primary School was very excited about our ideas and happy for us to get involved in any way we could. Joey immediately started by making a vegetable garden at the school.

Joey is also aware of how important sport is to the healthy development of a child. In the process of trying to find a way to get some such program started he came up with the idea of hosting a day that would involve the parents and children of the valley in a day of fun and sport.

The partnership between Kleinood farm Jan Van Riebeeck High school and Weber gedenk Primary evolved in a very natural way around some interesting coincidences and events. Kleinood’s connection with both schools is in the first instance because of children. The De Villiers children started and completed their school careers at Jan van Riebeeck primary- and high schools. Weber Gedenk, on the other hand, is where all the children of the people of Kleinood farm receive their primary education.