Pinelands couple need help with soup kitchen that feeds thousands

A PINELANDS couple who are running a soup kitchen have asked for donations in order to sustain the feeding project.

Maryam and Waseem Dadarker said they would like to keep it running throughout the various lockdown levels.

The couple started the kitchen a week into the lockdown and have been feeding between 3000 and 6000 people a day.

The two are also entrepreneurs, and Maryam said after their businesses shut down, Waseem suggested they help the needy. “We saw a huge need for food and that’s when we decided to start the kitchen,” she said.

The owner of Ramzi’s Food, she said their religion, Islam, taught them to give to charity and to care for those less fortunate.

“It is with these teachings in mind that my husband and I decided to turn our catering business into the feeding scheme. We have so many donors and sponsors who contribute daily to this scheme; it is impossible for us to do this without them,” she said.

The food is cooked and packaged into punnets daily and delivered to various communities on the Cape Flats, including Bridgetown, Silver Town, Kewtown, Mitchells Plain, Dunoon, Lavender Hill, Manenberg and Athlone. “We would like to thank the fearless security who have been assisting us daily to deliver and hand out the food to various areas. They have sacrificed their time away from home, breaking their fast on the road while seeing to the needy,” she said.

Anyone who wishes to assist can email Maryam and Waseem at ramzisfood@gmail.com

Separately, the Congress of SA Students (Cosas) hopes to feed at least 900 child-headed households by later this month.

Cosas treasurer Michael Mayalo said while they believed the government was doing the best it could to provide food for the less fortunate, they felt they could lend a helping hand to the cause.

“We felt the need to start a food bank, as the application process for the government is frustrating and sometimes it doesn’t reach people in our constituency. We stand for the scholars and those from underprivileged backgrounds,” he said.

“We will go live with the initiative on our social media platforms and we will be able to tell the public more about how they can access and who qualifies.

“In the Western Cape we have a database of about 30 child-headed households where we give them R500 per month in meal vouchers.

“We will also be putting the message out for others that cannot afford,” he said.

Any company or individual that would like to assist can contact Mayalo at 067 796 2185.

“We have so many donors and sponsors who contribute daily Maryam Dadarker Entrepreneur