The non-profit organisation, the Abancedi Community Development Centre, was established in July 2024 in Ebumnyameni, an informal settlement in Ocean View, Jeffreys Bay, to assist the underprivileged with meals twice a week using produce from their vegetable garden.
Now, nine months later, to accommodate their rapidly growing initiative, they plan to expand their garden perimeter to further assist the community.
As previously reported, the Abancedi Community Development Centre was founded by Pastor Sakhekile Mbili to assist the many unemployed people in his community with food to eat.
Since July 2024, the organisation has continued to feed at least 50 people once a week.
“Instead of sitting and doing nothing, we have managed to change the situation in our community,” said Mbili.
To ensure that they have the necessary ingredients to sustain the soup kitchen, the organisation began planting vegetables in their garden.
According to Mbili, the vegetables harvested from their garden serve dual purposes: supplying ingredients for the soup kitchen while also generating income through the sale of surplus produce.
“Through the vegetable garden, we can put food on the table for our families and assist the community through our soup kitchen,” said Mbili.
He said that the garden has expanded rapidly in the last nine months, and they now plan to expand the garden further to assist more people.
“The garden developed so quickly, and many people are dependent on the vegetables from the garden. Our biggest challenge now is that we do not have enough space to plant more vegetables,” said Mbili.
To expand their vegetable garden, he said that they are in need of donations of wire, barbed wire, poles, and seeds.
Additional assistance given to the community by the organisation includes pursuing training opportunities for unemployed individuals, with the aim of helping them secure employment or embark on entrepreneurial ventures to provide for their families.
They also assist orphaned and vulnerable children with registering for birth certificates at the Department of Home Affairs and offering clothing to those in need.
For more information or to contribute towards the NPO, contact Pastor Sakhekile Mbili at 068 773 6895 or email Mbilisakhekile20@gmail.
You must be logged in to post a comment.