Durban — East Coast Radio’s Big Favour show handed over a new kitchen unit to the Queensburgh Soup Kitchen at the Queensburgh Rugby Club on Tuesday in partnership with Westwood Mall, the Energy Drive and Peter Bode.
This comes after Riette Mannekin, who is part of the soup kitchen, reached out to the show seeking help with the cardboards as the ones they have are old.
The Big Favour is known for receiving requests for help, and helps those in need to get sponsors. East Coast Radio’s Thobekile Honono said after receiving the request that they opted to go for a site visit, and that was when they saw that the kitchen needed a revamp, so instead of just offering the cardboards they gave them a whole new kitchen.
Peter Bode donated cardboards worth R100 000, but it was later identified that they did not fit, and that was when the Energy Drive pitched in with their container; and for the soup kitchen to keep running, Westwood Mall donated R50 000.
Elsie Schoeman, the founder of the soup kitchen, who left her profession in labour law to cater to people, said she did not think it would get this far, seeing as she started cooking for people in her own home in 2019.
She said that when Covid-19 hit she would see people digging into garbage looking for food, and that was when she decided to arrange a full-blown soup kitchen.
“I reached out to the Queensburgh Rugby Club to use their grounds. We started off with 25 people, overnight we had 75, and we are now sitting with more than 300 people who benefit from the soup kitchen. I was told to shut down the kitchen at some point, but I will not stop helping these people as I have children of my own and my motherly instincts kick in, and I always wonder what if it was one of my own who were faced with such,” she said.
Schoeman’s children are also deeply involved in making the soup kitchen a success. Pravin Singh, a soup kitchen beneficiary, said this initiative had helped him “more than any other thing”.
Singh said the soup kitchen allowed him to take his treatment, as he could not do that on an empty stomach.
“The soup kitchen feels like a home, and having that warm meal means a lot. It has saved my life since I have no means to cook, and what makes the soup kitchen the best is that you can dish up and also be given a takeaway to go home with,” he said.
Simphiwe Mgobhozi said the soup kitchen had helped him “a lot”.
He said he started dishing up at the soup kitchen six months ago. Mgobhozi said his life before the soup kitchen was a mess, he struggled to find food and would get it from the garbage.
“My life has changed and I thank all the kind hearts that have taken care of us and not looked down on us. The opening of the new kitchen means a lot of people are about to be helped also,” said Mgobhozi.
In conclusion, the chief financial officer of Energy Drive said they were “so happy” to be part of this initiative and lend a helping hand. He wished that more people with power and connections would reach out to those who could not help themselves.
“We need to change the jurisdiction of this country. If you have the means to help, don’t hesitate. We advocate for change and giving people change for a better future for this country,” he said.
Daily News