Vegetable garden feeds Mamelodi East children
"I appreciate the volunteers taking part in such a great cause and hope they will continue taking care of the children and needy families in the area."
Children at the Newtown informal settlement in Mamelodi East this week received nutritious food from Vathu Phanda community forum soup kitchen.
Cronje Seloane, one of the founders of the soup kitchen, said the daily soup kitchen was started two years ago by the Vathu Phanda community forum and the Newtown vegetable garden aimed at feeding children in the area.
Seloane said the idea was to start a vegetable garden where they could plant veggies for the feeding scheme.
“We bought different seeds to start planting the vegetable garden,” said Seloane.
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He said he donated tools to work at the garden and today they have more than 15 volunteers. Volunteers at the soup kitchen believe the project would encourage the children to follow good eating and lifestyle habits. Vathu Phanda community forum, a non-profit organisation, helps the community of Newtown informal settlement in Sector 2, Mamelodi East.
Seloane said they feed more than 100 children per day from Monday to Friday from 13:00 to 14:00.
“I appreciate the volunteers taking part in such a great cause and hope they will continue taking care of the children and needy families in the area,” said Seloane.
“The volunteers work in different shifts, taking the little time off their lives to make a difference to the life of someone else. This is a key ingredient to changing the world around you,” said Seloane.
He added that there were days they run short of food, but Boxer Store also assisted with maize meal, soup and sugar.
“The volunteers also donate money from their own pockets or sometimes bring food from their households to keep the soup kitchen running,” said Seloane.
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“The soup kitchen and the vegetable garden aim to improve and practice a healthy lifestyle for the children and general well-being of children coming back to school.”
Volunteers wake up as early as 06:00 to water the garden. They plant anything from cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes and carrots. He concluded that the soup kitchen has been helpful during the first phase of lockdown as many families received food from the kitchen.
Anyone who wishes to assist with donations to keep the soup kitchen running can contact Boitumelo Mashakeng on 073-600-5171.
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