The following is an excerpt from a letter sent to St Vincent de Paul Durbanville from the Mercy Aids Foundation
I also want to commend you on the work you are doing and the support that Saint Vincent De Paul Society at the Durbanville Catholic Church is doing. We know all these organisations you mention and they are doing amazing work. Together we can all make a very big difference in Fisantekraal and beyond.
Like I mentioned on the phone we currently have 22 Soup kitchens in Fisantekraal that are at varying degrees of support. Some of them are incredibly well resourced and have things to share, which is a virtue we have encouraged and we are seeing it bear fruit. There are some more soup kitchens identified that are ready to go, but the ladies would need all the equipment. These four ladies have been interviewed and the reason we are interested and waiting for the funding to come in for them. In helping them start it would mean we would for sure have a soup kitchen in walking distance of everyone in Fisantekraal. Also this helps us identify the most vulnerable families and then the organisations doing food parcels get the names from us and this families go on the list for parcels.
We decided to set ladies up with equipment and fresh veg, meat and staples to encourage them to cook and it has been amazing to see their love and creativity in all of this. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each of them. The hope is that one day when this virus passes and people can get back to work that the need for free food will not be as acute and then the ladies can use their kitchens for profit. We are also in the process of helping them think about gardening. Our soup kitchens were elected by the ward counsellor in the last week to become the main distributor of 10 kg maize packages in their areas. They are all loving the responsibility.
You asked me for a wish list.
We would love help with equipment. The biggest need is double burners, gas and a 50 litre and 36 litre pots. One of my big learnings is that soup kitchens do not just make soup, but real meals and two pots are such a gift to them. If you would be able to sponsor a kitchen or two we to start up we would love that. Ingredients for the pots are also welcome, but a focus on equipment from you would be greatly appreciated. As much as you are able to do would be greatly appreciated.
The soup kitchen in Durbanville contact is Janessa Stockhall 084 368 3883. They serve pre-cooked meals.
MercyAIDS, was founded in 2004 by Holger Lorentz, with the aim of supporting, in a broad sense, children and families who were infected and/or affected by HIV/AIDS. At first it was run as a ministry of a German Trust, from a local church, in association with Philippi Trust SA.
Mercy AIDS was entered into the NPO register (144 – 410 NPO) on 28/10/2014 in the category Development & Housing > Economic, Social and Community Development > Social Development. On 01/07/2015 it was approved as a PBO (PBO 930 049 584) with Section 18a Tax Exemption status for the following activities:
The care or counselling of, or the provision of education programmes relating to, abandoned, abused, neglected, orphaned or homeless children.
The provision of poverty relief
Community development for poor and needy persons and anti-poverty initiative
The prevention of HIV infection, the provision of preventative and education programmes relating to HIV/AIDS
The care, counselling or treatment of persons afflicted with HIV/AIDS, including the care or counselling of families and dependants in this regard.
COVID – 19 Our response
In keeping with our vision, mission and practice for the past 15 years, we are responding to the impact the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, which is huge and widespread, with practical support in the form of food and emotional/psychosocial care.
We have begun to assist organisations and individual care givers that we have worked with where we have mutual relationships of trust and accountability and where we know those vulnerable and needy people are treated with love and dignity, and where people get the help they need to feed and care for their families through this current crisis, and as the lockdown lifts and people begin to get back onto their feet.
As part of our response to the immediate hunger crisis, MercyAIDS is assisting residents of Fisantekraal to run soup kitchens in their neighbourhoods. Collectively, they are currently feeding at least 4000 people a day.