To prevent children from stealing food at the local store to fill their hungry stomachs, Mercia Leeuw from Maak ’n Las, Kruisfontein, established the Emmanuel Community Feeding Project and now, one year later, the need for the soup kitchen has grown to feed approximately 200 children in the community.
According to Leeuw, with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people in her community lost their jobs and could therefore not afford to buy food for their family and were left starving.
In addition, she said, quite a few people were dependent on social grants.
As a result, Leeuw said many children from these areas often stole food from the local shop to fill their growling stomachs.
“My heart bleeds when these little children ask me for food to eat. I care about my community, and I want to help as many children as I can,” said Leeuw.
She said, for many years, she prayed to God to help her establish a soup kitchen and in September last year, her prayers were answered.
With regular donations of fresh vegetables from One Village and donations from the wife of Kouga Mayor, Horatio Hendricks, Amore Hendricks, Leeuw, together with a total of eight members and volunteers, has been working hard to serve nutritious meals to approximately 100 to 200 children during each serving for over a year.
“God has helped me establish my own soup kitchen at the right time, when people in my community desperately needed food,” said Leeuw.
In addition to the food she served to the children in the community, she also arranged with St Patrick’s Primary School to collect food from their feeding scheme to hand over to the school’s learners when they were off from school.
Initially, Leeuw cooked and handed out food to children every Tuesday and Thursday, but because the demand for the soup kitchen continued to grow, she began handing out food as soon as she received donations.
She said on multiple occasions the line of children waiting for food continued to grow which resulted in her having to rush to make another pot of food to ensure that all children received a meal before they left.
“We do not leave until every child standing in line has a meal to eat,” said Leeuw.
“My community is very proud of the soup kitchen because they know that when they are hungry, they can always visit Aunty Mercia for a meal to fill their bellies.”
Since all food is cooked outside on a fire, Leeuw said they often faced weather-related difficulties, which caused a delay in the cooking process.
They are therefore hoping to receive a gas stove to make it easier for them to cook meals.
“My wish is that people will open their hearts and bless the soup kitchen so that we can continue feeding the children in our community,” said Leeuw.
Leeuw hopes to be able to provide food parcels every month to each household in the area.
To donate towards the soup kitchen, visit 3311 Maak ’n Las, Kruisfontein in Humansdorp, or contact Mercia Leeuw on 078 361 8909.
