Soulfood
In October 2012, prompted by her passion and concern for the health, safety and general well-being of the children and youth of the Snake Park Community in Grabouw, Lynette de Bruyn Davids started her Soulfood Feeding Scheme. Every Wednesday afternoon Lynette now feeds over 60 children and there is a growing waiting list. Lynette soon realised that these children needed more than just a warm meal, they needed to have their spirits and souls fed too. She therefore started an afterschool care group where she now keeps the ever growing group busy with fun and educational projects, which range from arts and crafts to gardening and games, as well as river and community clean-ups.
When Lynette was approached with the concept of starting a Recycling Swop Shop she needed no persuading and jumped at the opportunity. And so the Soulfood Recycling Swop Shop (SRSS) was born. SRSS now has close to 80 youth and parents bringing recycling to the shop every Thursday afternoon. They receive reward points that are then accumulated to swop for anything from rice to school shoes. A dedicated team of youth manages the sorting of the waste, ensuring that everything brought in is correctly separated before it is collected by TWK Recycling. TWK Recycling then weighs the waste and a payment is made to SRSS, which in turn helps to keep the shop operating. SRSS has now become more than just a swop shop, it has become a point of pride within the community. Children and their parents are now keeping the streets and the river clean by collecting waste and in turn are able to “purchase” much needed goods for their family. Lynette tells heartwarming stories of young children coming in with enough points to purchase toys and sweets for themselves, but instead they swop their points for bags of rice for their family. Lynette now does inspirational talks at local schools about the importance of community recycling.
In partnership with the Breede Gouritz Catchment Management Agency, The Table Mountain Fund is helping to support Lynette’s Soulfood Recycling Swop Shop through our Small Grants Programme.
