Women’s Month will place a spotlight on the many women who are making a difference and one of them is Sandiswa Manxebe from Imizamo Yethu, who knows a thing or two about a feeding a community.
Her Moleefe Street home has been turned into a daily operation, feeding over 300 people twice and sometimes thrice a day, eventually landing the name, Mama Sindis Soup Kitchen.
“It has grown onto me and it started off by me just handing one person a meal, which led to another and then a group and then a whole bunch of people. It’s something I love doing, because it’s something helping my community,” she proudly said.
Every Monday to Friday, people gather their containers and head to Mama Sindi’s to secure a spot in the queue for one of her meals.
“I always try and keep the meals nice and nutritious and especially the children are always happy about my food. Many of them come from struggling homes, so that meal is important for them and I am happy to be the one providing it for them,” Ms Manxebe said.
With the heavy rainfall, Mama Sindi’s Soup Kitchen went into overdrive, as many scrambled for a warm meal to brave the storms.
“It was really sad to see people really suffering in those conditions and I wanted to always make sure we had warm soup at least for our people, something to keep them warm and healthy,” Ms Manxebe said.
Jonas Mwebu has had to face those challenges of a leaking roof and living in a flooded shack.
But Mama Sindi’s Soup Kitchen is the one shining light after a hard days battle for Mr Mwebu.
“The food is really nice and always makes us feel good. We have to live in very bad conditions, but that meal keeps us going and something to give us a little boost to fight in these conditions,” he said.
He said many in the IY community knew to rush to Mama Sindi’s and said: “Nobody leaves there disappointed.”
“We are really proud to have our people look over our people like that. She can be somewhere else doing other things, but she spends that time cooking for those in need. God bless her always,” Mr Mwebu said.
Due to the everyday cooking and rapid growth in numbers, Ms Manxebe’s stock and equipment has taken a hit, so she is calling out to the community to consider coming to her aid.
“There are plenty of people who need help, especially the children and I want to be able to do more and help more and that is why I reached out for help,” she said.
To help Mama Sindi’s Soup Kitchen or find out more, contact 073 703 0817.
