Africa-Press – Namibia. WALVIS BAY’S vulnerable children are always looking forward to Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
On these days, they wait for Toya Louw’s familiar white Land Rover to show up in their neighbourhood. She visits different areas, including Otweya informal settlement and Narraville’s Cape Flats, with buckets of soup to warm the local children’s bodies and hearts. Louw and some friends started the Twaloloka Aid Support and Kindness (Task) soup kitchen in April 2020.
“One of my friends came up with the idea to make food for kids in townships, because so many people had lost their jobs overnight. We got together with a couple of friends and started preparing meals that we loaded on the back of my Land Rover, and transported them to areas where people were suffering,” she says.
Two months after she started the food programme, a blaze at Twaloloka informal settlement at Kuisebmond destroyed hundreds of residents’ shacks. “We got more people and started asking people for donations so that we could feed the fire victims on a daily basis. Some churches and a few businesses also stepped in. After everyone got settled in their tents, we really started giving them attention, because they were so vulnerable,” Louw says.
Task has been feeding vulnerable communities for over eight months now, and the bond between the team and the settlements’ children has become unbreakable, she says.
As soon as the children notice her Land Rover arriving, they start collecting their soup bowls and cheer the team on. The occasion is not just about feeding the children, Louw says, it is also about sharing love and kindness.
“This is Nelao. It means lucky. Hi Nelao, do you feel lucky today?” Louw asks one of the girls.
“The project makes me feel like a better person. There is a big gap in this country between rich and poor. Give a little bit, even if it is a bag of macaroni or a bit of money. Fill up a gas bottle, give a combo of fruit and vegetables. Donate money to the project. It is not difficult. We can all run it,” she says.
Otweya mother Regina Johannes says: “That woman has a heart of gold. When we see her and the people who help us, we cannot thank God enough for them. We worried about how we would feed our children, but they have come to our rescue.
“We also get some of food when there are leftovers after they finish feeding the children.”
Another mother, Julia Amunyela, says: “There have been days that I was also feeling hungry, and they did not turn me away, although the food was meant for the children. That lady is a real angel. We really thank that team.”
Louw’s team feeds about 400 children, she says. She says they are determined to keep feeding the residents of Twaloloka, although they have now been moved out of their tents. Louw is appealing for more people to help with food as she would like to feed the children more often.
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