Feeding Mayibuye one warm meal at a time
Driven by compassion and a desire to fight hunger, Relebohile Thapelo continues to serve warm home-cooked meals to vulnerable residents in Mayibuye, bringing hope and comfort to those in need during the winter cold.
Relebohile Thapelo keeps the streets of Mayibuye warm with her home-cooked meals, and on June 19, she spread her love once again with another meal during the cold weather.
Thapelo is a Mayibuye resident who started cooking for underprivileged community members in 2023 with no sponsorship, driven only by her love for the community.
She explained that what drives her in this initiative is her fear of seeing someone go to bed without something to eat.
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She focuses on providing these meals to anyone in need, but mostly to children with no food at home, orphans and drug addicts.
“My heart aches when I see young children and even drug addicts who are always roaming around the streets without anything to eat. That is why I try, whenever I can, to serve the community.”
“A lot of these children go to bed without a meal, and that is why I dedicated 16:30 as the time I serve these meals in the community,” added Thapelo.
Moreover, through this initiative, Thapelo has started receiving help with cooking and serving from neighbours and other community members.
Neighbour Nandipha Tsipa said she draws inspiration from Thapelo, as what she is doing is significant for the community.
Another neighbour who was assisting on the day, Rose Mabula, shared her wishes for Thapelo and the initiative.
“I wish that she could grow and possibly get assistance from people and businesses who want to be part of the work she does,” said Mabula.
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With assistance from her siblings, Thapelo has managed to sustain this initiative from time to time.
“I used to do this once a month, but because I have to pay from my own pocket and sometimes I do not have enough, I ended up not doing it monthly, but whenever I can. Of course, my wish is to do this every day, but I currently do not have the means to do so.”
She further emphasised what she hopes to achieve in the community through this initiative.
“As small as this may be right now, I do see myself one day having a centre where I provide shelter for those who need it and meals for those who need them.
“In doing this, my biggest goal is also to help reduce crime in the community. When I provide meals for those in need, especially drug addicts, that means there will be fewer cases of alleged theft involving them,” added Thapelo.
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