WATCH: CEO celebrates his 48th birthday by giving back to the hungry

For some, birthdays are a time to come together with their family and closest friends to reconnect and celebrate the journey of life. However, Urban Ruins Community Care Centre CEO Clayton Viljoen used his special occasion to give back to the needy and inspire positive change.

Instead of a small gathering with his family and friends, he chose to celebrate in a way that involves over 200 needy people, including the homeless, who can’t afford even a small luxury.
In this heartwarming gesture to celebrate his milestone, Viljoen partnered with local organisations and schools to provide the underprivileged with a fine dining experience at the centre.

At the restaurant-style setting, the 200 beneficiaries were treated to three starter options, a choice of three main courses and a selection of desserts to pick from.
It was more than just enjoying the delicious food; the occasion was also crafted to provide a memorable and great dining experience, where the needy enjoyed meticulous service, and some good vibes.
On top of that, the needy also received clothing.

Viljoen’s official birthday is on July 21, but the party to celebrate his special day took place on July 19 at Urban Ruins in Plantation.
“I’m spoiled on a regular basis. Traditionally, on my birthday, my parents would take me out to a restaurant and give me some spoils. I’m taking the opportunity to try and return the favour to the community, and that’s why today we are hosting a ‘restaurant-style feed’, something different from our normal weekly soup kitchen.

“We all deserve to be spoiled, and everyone deserves a nice and nutritious meal.”
“I will obviously get spoiled too, but today first is the poor community members because they too need to be spoiled sometimes.
“It’s a lot of work, but I enjoy doing it. It’s basically a birthday gift from my staff and team of volunteers because I just came with the idea and they are doing all the hard work of putting this together.
“Some of the people here live on the streets, with some surviving with eating from dust bins or soup kitchens. So, this will obviously be an enjoyable moment for them.

Thank you Clayton

Michèle De Bruyne of Boksburg North said: “I enjoy it here because I like to get spoiled. Each and everyone needs to get spoiled at least once in their lifetime. I’m grateful for that because I don’t regularly get this. I appreciate everything that they do for everybody in the community.”

Marcus Mahlangu of Angelo informal settlement said: “I’m feeling so nice here, and it’s been many years not experiencing something like this. Today I’m enjoying very nice food. I ordered my favourite food – mushrooms and beef stew.”

Support
“I wish I could do this for more because there are thousands of people out there who are going hungry everyday,” said Viljoen.
Among those who supported the initiative are: St Dominic’s School for Girls and Woodlands School learners, Westwood Primary School, Hoërskool Voortrekker, Rotary Interact and The Humanity Foundation.

Social purpose
To combat food poverty and malnutrition, Urban Ruins is feeding hundreds of hungry community members three times a week at the communal kitchen, through its feeding programme.
In partnership with The Humanity Foundation, the centre also assists other NGOs with food donations.
Other services rendered include employment readiness programmes, and the centre boasts an ECD facility that has a capacity of 60 children.

Community support urged
Viljoen pointed out that to obtain enough food to sustain the food initiative and to meet the demands is very challenging, hence they think it would be a good thing for local businesses, organisations and individuals to get behind the initiatives designed to tackle food inequality.

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