THE aroma of freshly baked bread was a thrill for staff and elderly visitors to the Muthande Society for the Aged as loaves of freshly baked bread came straight out the Celebrate Life bread oven donated by Suncoast.
The donation from Suncoast, facilitated by Vukukhanye, forms part of Celebrate Life SA’s Bread Oven Project. The project seeks to create sustainable employment for women, by teaching them how to run bakeries that support their local communities. Products produced with ovens, include bread, snowballs, muffins and rolls, which are then sold to community schools, crèches as well as facilities like the Muthande Society for the Aged.
Celebrate Life SA is running similar projects in many communities around KwaZulu-Natal.
“We rely on donors like Suncoast to assist us in offering a sustainable solution to making a difference to the lives of not only those at Muthande, but also to the homes and schools in the community that will benefit from this oven” said Cherry Armstrong, Director of Celebrate Life SA.
She said once ovens are installed, Celebrate Life SA follows up with regular visits to ensure that baking operations remain on track and to give advice on the running of the business.
Muthande is a community-based organisation that focus on issues related to the elderly within the eThekwini Municipality and in various communities such as Clermont, Lamontville and Chesterville to name a few. Since inception the organisation has implemented programmes that alleviate poverty, improve social cohesion and assist the elderly in acquiring new skills.
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“This is an opportunity that came at the right time. We are now in a position to generate an income for the centre, while serving the needs of the community,” said Dorris Hlubi, Head of Enterprise for Muthande.
“This project made perfect sense to us. The fact that it will impact on the community, the schools and the elderly while providing opportunity for the bakers means that it fits well with our value system of supporting sustainable causes that benefit communities that are close to our operation,” said Kelley Graham, Communications Manager for Suncoast.
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