VIDEO: Eat to the beat
STILL GOT IT! : Khayelitsha moms know all the moves
The struggle many households face trying to feed their families has touched a Khayelitsha woman so deeply that she started a soup kitchen.
Sandra Tshisa, who works at Groote Schuur Hospital in the Early Childhood section, says: “Since I work, I’m not home most of the time, but because of lockdown I was forced to be home and that is when I saw how most families were struggling.
“Every morning I would be outside of my house preparing porridge for my children and I would see children from the area standing outside my gate crying and asking if they can have some porridge as well.”
Sandra says she decided to cook porridge for all the kids on her two-plate gas stove and so Sandra’s Kitchen was born in April.
“I thought I was only dealing with a few children but the numbers increased and more children were coming, which meant I had to cook more porridge.”
Sandra says she pays for the food herself but she could not afford it anymore as she also cares for her family in the Eastern Cape.
She spoke to her friend Tanya van Tonder, about her problem.
“She helped from her own pocket but as the numbers grew, we needed more help.
“Even some parents started coming, also asking for food, and I could not turn them away.”
Now three times a week, come rain or shine, about 80 people stand outside her home waiting for a meal.
She usually cooks pap and butternut soup, rice and with beans and vegetables, or samp and bean soup.
“The community really appreciates what I do for them and I also enjoy seeing smiles on their faces because of me,” says Sandra.
She was initially worried about the lockdown protocols such as social distancing, but she managed to teach everyone the rules.
Sandra says for Heritage Day, she, with the assistance of Helping Hands, she decided to feed and entertain her community by having everyone do the Jerusalema Dance challenge.
With Master KG’s hit blaring from speakers, the excited kids and some parents performed the now world-famous dance challenge.
“Everyone enjoyed the event we had and that makes me happy,” she adds.