On a sunny, clear blue sky winter morning of Tuesday, 14 May, the Val de Vie Foundation team visited the old Groenheuwel library, where CLLR Brenda van Willingh’s soup kitchen is based. The premises currently serve as a temporary haven for the nearly 67 adults and 38 children from Candice Street survivors in Smarty Town, Paarl East, who suffered a devastating loss on 7 April when their homes burned down, leaving them with nothing.
For the past five weeks, the Candice Street survivors have been in the caring hands of Brenda and her team, who have provided them with a roof over their heads and daily food from the soup kitchen. When the Val de Vie Foundation was asked for assistance in helping the survivors of this unfortunate tragedy, we sprung into action by supplying them with two large crates of fresh organic vegetables picked and delivered every week from the Val de Vie Estate Wellness Farm.
An urgent call to action was sent out to our residents on the Estate, asking for gently worn clothing donations to lend a helping hand to the desperate survivors who were left with nothing. We express our sincere thanks to the heartfelt response of all residents who dropped off their generous donations over the past few weeks, with the last of the donations delivered to the community on the 14th, truly extending their helping hands in this effort.
The Val de Vie Foundation is committed to supporting these families by continuing the weekly fresh vegetable donations for the next month. At the moment, Brenda’s soup kitchen requires a refrigerator, if you would like to donate to the soup kitchen or would like to make a difference by volunteering with the Val de Vie Foundation, please email Foundation@valdevie.co.za
