Tzu Chi Five Day School Holiday Soup Kitchen

During the 2014 October school holiday, the Tzu Chi volunteers from Ivory Park continued their work of spreading love, compassion and relief, extending the normal Saturday soup kitchen to a one week program which started from the 3rd October till the 13th October.

- by Kgabo Semeya -

Photo by: Thapelo

The aim of the program was to help feed the children who depend on the school feeding scheme on a daily basis and to encourage them to keep off the streets and focus on learning Tzu Chi etiquette, good manners, and values such as love and care for oneself and the environment.



Photo by: Randy

Every morning, half the volunteers would prepare rice and vegetables whilst the other half would start to organize the daily lessons and games for the children. There were approximately 65 children who were part of the daily program. Before every meal, the volunteers would educate the children about the benefits of vegetarianism and how Tzu Chi members encourage the virtue of not killing. 

10 new members joined the program who were from a school called Thembinkosi; a school for mental and handicapped children in Tembisa North. Ma Semenya said that when she first came across these new volunteers, they had low self-esteem and very little confidence. This was due to the fact that many people in the community judged them and ridiculed them for being handicapped. After attending the June/July Tzu Chi local youth seminar, they devoted themselves to learn from and follow the work of Tzu Chi volunteers. They now spend their time doing Tzu Chi work and learning how to bake and sew with Ma Semenya and other volunteers.  



Photo by: Thapelo

Ma Semenya said she started working with these girls, because as a Christian, she believes that everybody deserves a chance to prove themselves; she said that some of these children will never get a chance to attend University or College, which is very sad and unfortunate, but as Tzu Chi members, we are afforded the ability to teach them skills that can help them to be better people and survive in this harsh world. They can also plant the seed of love in their own families and show the world that even handicapped individuals can help themselves and others. Ma Semenya said, "I let them take part in volunteer work so that they don't feel sorry for themselves. They must know that in Tzu Chi we treat everyone with gratitude, respect and love."

On the last day of the school holiday soup kitchen program, the volunteers invited some of the families in the community who also look after orphans and disadvantaged people. The volunteers introduced the parents to Tzu Chi and distributed bags of Tzu Chi rice from Taiwan to each family. Ma Semenya explained to them that each grain of rice is very important because it was made with love; love from Master Cheng Yen and her Tzu Chi volunteers.

Ma Semenya and her volunteers started this program because during school holidays, many of the orphaned children visited the bakery on a daily basis asking for something to eat. They also depended heavily on the school feeding schemes during the school term so during the holidays they could only obtain food during the Saturday soup kitchen times where they could get a hot meal and learn Jing Si Aphorisms from the Tzu Chi youth volunteers.  Ma Semenya said, "Being a full-time Tzu Chi volunteer, we must always be willing to work and try to make a change in somebody's life." She believed that the five day Tzu Chi soup kitchen program was going to benefit the children, not just in terms of feeding them but also teaching them how to spread the seed of love.

Photo by: Randy