Rayton Soup Kitchen received a donation from a KragDag food exhibitor on August 12. KragDag attracts many exhibitors and visitors, but after the event, a lot of food not sold would go to waste.
One of the exhibitors at this year’s KragDag decided to change this and handed boxes of freshly baked bread rolls to Ward 100 Clr Johannes Bekker, who took it to the soup kitchen in Rayton on August 13.
The soup kitchen regularly serves meals to the less fortunate in the community. They also provide a venue for those with resources to share their blessings with people in dire need.
Bekker said a familiar feeling among the poorest of poor people is hopelessness, for which no one can be blamed.
“When you do not have income or earn very little, it is inevitable to feel such desperation.
“Every day they keep fighting to survive and every single day, they sink deeper into the quagmire of self-pity and desolation.”
“Soup kitchens have become a refuge for those less-fortunate souls. It gives them hope that all is not lost and people still care for them,” Bekker explained.
“In these havens they are not judged, discriminated against or made to feel like they’re worthless, instead they are cared for and treated as equals.”
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According to Bekker, most soup kitchens also provide other necessities such as clothes and hygiene kits.
“Though some soup kitchens only serve soup and bread, others serve a freshly-cooked full-course meal.”
“The most important thing a soup kitchen does is to provide the community with a sense of belonging.
“For someone who doesn’t have a place of their own, this is a big deal, particularly during special occasions,” said Bekker.
