Baker kneads help to keep helping out
A KHAYELITSHA businesswoman has taken the initiative to bake bread for child-headed households in her community whom she can’t bear to see suffer.
However, she is in need of ingredients to bake even more regularly.
Sizeka Zisiwe, 34, is a mother and works as a service consultant in the automotive industry.
She started the home-based bakery in June last year in an effort to give back to her community and bring hope to children from disadvantaged households.
She bakes at least 20 loaves of bread a week.
“As an individual who grew up here in Khayelitsha, I saw that many families were struggling, especially during the lockdown. Parents lost their jobs, and that affected children as their parents were not able to provide for them.
“I then decided to start baking bread and distribute it to disadvantaged households and orphanages. I lost my mother at a young age, so I headed the household as there was nobody to look after me. I mostly depended on food parcels, that’s why I decided to start this initiative, as I know how it feels to not have anything,” she said.
Zisiwe said the initiative had become a source of hope for children.
“The orphanage I’ve started baking the bread for is Fikelela Children’s Home, where they have about 40 children.
“It warms my heart to see the children happy when I arrive, and knowing that they’ll go to bed on a full stomach. My plan is to visit the children every Saturday and do activities with them.
“I chose this orphanage because from a young age I was a member of St Peter’s Anglican Church, and this home would donate some parcels for me as they knew my home situation, so that’s the reason I decided to give back to them. My aim is to reach out to many children’s homes here in Khayelitsha.”
She said one of the challenges she faced was not having enough donations or parcels to provide for the community.
“I rely on the community to pledge for this charity drive in order for me to bake and deliver. Some days people don’t donate, and that would really be a struggle for me and it would mean that I wouldn’t distribute bread that day.
“I normally deliver bread every week, but since I haven’t had people donating I only bake the bread on weekends, and distribute it on Saturday and Sunday.
“I would appreciate it if I could get assistance and if people could come forward and donate, as this drive has helped many families,” she said.
If you would like to donate or assist you can contact Zisiwe at 067 015 0172.