Holiday joy shared at annual Christmas event

Numerous sponsors, volunteers and City of Johannesburg (COJ) councillors joined Fred and Martie’s Soup Kitchen in hosting its annual Christmas party on Saturday, December 10.

This year’s event was the largest event to date, with over 800 children, which focussed primarily on sharing the joy and spirit of Christmas.

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According to the organisers, the annual event brings much needed joy into the lives of children, particularly during the holidays.

The day was entirely focused on the children, with games such as egg tossing, three-legged races, pin the tail on the donkey, and many other activities to keep them entertained.

After the games, the children had a sit down with a storyteller who told them all about the true meaning of Christmas.

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They received numerous snacks and different goodies and at the end even got to meet Santa and got their presents before going home.

The entire event was made possible by the generosity of sponsors, volunteers, and a few COJ Ward and PR Councillors who assisted in ensuring that the event ran smoothly and that the children returned home with hands full of gifts and goodies and smiles on their faces.

This event would not have been possible without Yolindie and Riaan Oberholzer who has been running the soup kitchen and devoting their lives to serving the community of Claremont and surrounding areas.

Fred and Martie’s soup kitchen was started almost 50 years ago by Fred and Martie Hughes, who then entrusted their daughter Yolindie Oberholzer in running the soup kitchen which has been a beacon of hope in Claremont and surrounding areas.

Fred and Martie’s Soup Kitchen needs support throughout the year to make it possible to feed the children, elderly and the community as a whole throughout the year.

For more information Yolindie can be contacted on 082 854 6904 and Riaan on 082 786 8517.