What they do
In 2021 a spate of food thefts hit Ngqele village. Nodumo Mashiyane asked around and found that many of the people caught stealing came from child-headed households or were children living with grandparents; some elderly people were taking medication on an empty stomach.
She began cooking at home on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for elderly people, disabled residents and child-headed households, using firewood she buys herself. For people who cannot leave home, she delivers the food. She registered a community organisation but has not secured funding. By 2026 she was still cooking.
Timeline
- Began cooking from her own pocket.
- Still cooking for the village.
Reports
- Eastern Cape woman's soup kitchen gives more than warm meals
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.