Eastern Cape woman’s soup kitchen gives more than warm meals

Nodumo Mashiyane makes warm meals for elderly residents and orphans in Ngqele village, Middledrift. Here she is with 78-year-old Thandekile Matha who relies on Mashiyane’s soup kitchen, so he doesn’t have to take his chronic medication on an empty stomach. Photos: Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik

An unusual spate of robberies around Ngqele, Middledrift in the Eastern Cape led 62-year-old Nodumo Mashiyane to start a soup kitchen in her village. Mashiyane said she asked around and discovered that there was a hunger crisis in her community, and started making meals out of her own pocket in 2021.

“Most of the things being stolen were food,” she said.

It appeared that many of those who had been caught stealing food came from child-headed households or children who lived with their grandparents.

At the same time, Mashiyane said people would default on their medication because they had not had anything to eat for days. “Some would tell me that they were taking their treatment on an empty stomach. Others who are frail would go all day without eating because they live alone or wait for grandchildren to get home from school,” she said.

Mashiyane has registered Ngqele Youth Development in a bid to get funding for her soup kitchen.

She cooks meals on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays — mostly for elderly people, people living with disabilities, children heading households and struggling families. Mashiyane cooks using firewood, which she buys, although residents also collect wood to help her.

Mashiyane said she encourages people to collect the food themselves, but she also delivers meals to those who are unable to walk to her house.

When GroundUp visited the soup kitchen on a Friday, people were sitting in Mashiyane’s yard enjoying a warm bowl of samp and beans with vegetables and gravy.

Nomabhongo Mini was one of them. She told us that the meals have brought relief to families caring for elderly relatives and children living alone.

Mini lives with her elderly mother, who is frail and can’t walk. She regularly collects food here.

“The majority of us are unemployed. Most houses here are relying on social grants, and that same money needs to go to the children’s school needs. This soup kitchen is making a huge difference to the community,” said Mini.

She said she sometimes leaves her mother and children at home to look for piece jobs. “I used to worry about whether my mother was eating during the day. But now I know that at least she gets food three days a week,” she said.

Mashiyane said she has tried to find help to fund the soup kitchen. She has registered an NGO, Ngqele Youth Development, and applied for funding, but none of her applications has been successful.

People eating a warm bowl of samp and beans with vegetables and gravy outside the soup kitchen.

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