Soup for the soul, dig in
Randfontein philanthropists give soup and bread to the poor and destitute.
Through Liza Knoren, a member of Mekoddishkem Ministries, roadside job seekers are able to start the day with a cup of soup and a slice of bread.
The initiative began four years ago when Liza and her mother Kokkie Scheppers opened a Christian book shop in Greenhills.
People off the street were drawn to the bookshop and began asking for food. Because they could not start the soup kitchen within the shopping complex, they took the soup kitchen to the people.
Soup is served on the corner of Homestead and Freda Avenue and then again on the corner of Homestead and Tambotie Street to people looking for work on the roadside. In the past the soup kitchen took place on Saturday mornings, however, it has moved to Friday mornings because there is a greater response on said mornings.
The soup kitchen serves not only soup but also offers a brief impromptu church service before the soup and bread is prayed for. Liza believes that one cannot preach to a hungry person because they won’t listen, furthermore you cannot feed a hungry person and not preach to them or they will only become dependent on the food.
These philanthropists not only run a soup kitchen but also have a shelter called Christlike Hope Sentrum where the destitute can seek refuge. The shelter is located on a plot in Randgate.
In addition to these past achievements, these women plan on taking on a new challenge specifically for the festive season; they are looking into collecting and making up food and clothing parcels for the people they serve soup to as a ‘Christmas box.’
They feel that these people deserve to have the festive season be a joyous period of time free of worry about where the next plate of food will come from.
For more information contact: Liza Knoren on 074 286 4415 for the soup kitchen and Alida van den Berg on 083 290 9219 for the shelter.
