NEWS hands over soup kitchen donations
Since the NEWS coverage of the work done by the soup kitchen in recent weeks, community members have come out in great support of this project.
Bags of groceries, clothing and blankets were handed over by the team from the NEWS to Khanyisa Soup Kitchen, last Tuesday.
Once again our readers responded overwhelmingly to our call for donations for the soup kitchen, which provides daily meals to the homeless in Edenvale
Dipuo Tekana, the manager at Khanyisa, said since the NEWS coverage of the work done by the soup kitchen in recent weeks, community members have come out in great support of this project.
Also read: NEWS spreads the warmth in support of Khanyisa Soup Kitchen
“People responded to the articles highlighting the work done by Khanyisa. They were touched by the stories of our beneficiaries and people responded to our ongoing call for support,” said Tekana.
“We at Khanyisa greatly appreciate the blankets, non-perishable foodstuffs and funds which came from the Bedfordview and Edenvale News Mandela Day initiative. We thank you for the generosity and love you have shown. We also thank your partners in the project and the wonderful love, warmth and generosity displayed by the people of Edenvale. It is obvious that they care.
“This wonderful response to your appeal for support complements the long-term regular donations of more perishable foodstuffs we receive from our stalwart supporters like Woolworths Foods in Linksfield, Engen on Elm Street and De Backery.
“These wonderful donations enable Khanyisa to ‘Spread the Light’ to a 100 or more lives each day. When we have semi-perishables left over, we can share them with other Edenvale charities to ‘Spread the Light’ even further,” said Leigh Evans, the secretary of the organisation.
Also read: Khanyisa continues to help
“In recent months, we have asked our communities in Edenvale and Bedfordview to support various causes. We have been overwhelmed by the communities’ giving nature despite the difficult financial times,” said editor, Marietta Lombard.
Khanyisa provides meals to approximately 120 people a day, five days a week. It is estimated that approximately 70 per cent of the people visiting the kitchen on a daily basis are homeless, and that approximately 30 per cent are unemployed.
Meals are served on weekdays from 10am to 11am.
On Fridays, the kitchen prepares extra meals as takeaways for the weekend.
Khanyisa aims to ensure that the nutritional content of meals meets most of the daily nutritional requirements for an adult.
For many families in Edenvale, Khanyisa’s daily meal is the only meal they receive each day. The number of people making use of the soup kitchen continues to increase.
Employment service
The organisation also assists job seekers to find employment and calls for greater support from local businesses and community members.
Khanyisa registers about 187 job seekers per month. It pre-screens them, conducts background checks, does the short listing and sets up and facilitates interviews between job seekers and potential employers.
Also read: #MandelaDay: NEWS overwhelmed by support for soup kitchen project
The organisation helps domestic workers, painters, gardeners, drivers, office administrators, plumbers and casual labourers find employment.
The NEWS thank our readers, Karaglen SuperSpar, Pick ’n Pay Eden Meadows, Pick ’n Pay Edenglen and Glenvale Hyper and their shoppers for contributing towards the donations handed over on Tuesday.
The soup kitchen also received its first delivery of freshly-baked bread – courtesy of Colcacchio Eastgate – at the beginning of June already, after the launch of the Soup Kitchen incentive project.
Contact Khanyisa on 011 452 6176 or email khanyisatrust@telkomsa.net.
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Email benews@caxton.co.za
