On Friday 26 July staff members from the School of Journalism and Media Studies descended on the St Mary’s Development Care Centre with large iron pots of bean and vegetable soup to combat the morning’s winter chill, as part of the Rhodes University community engagement initiative to give 67 minutes of your time for Nelson Mandela day.
Chad Gill, the School’s resident intern, organised the day’s events, and Delise Moriarty’s husband, Des, prepared the soup. In attendance to pour, stir, and serve were Delise, Chad, Belinda de Lange, Gerald Brown, Dawn Long, and Mandla Msehla. Between them they served 200 cups of soup to students and staff members at St Mary’s DCC.
The students sat around wooden tables in the dining area and posed for the cameras, some of them still missing their teeth. Belinda de Lange remarked afterwards that she hopes to do more events like this in the future, and not only on special occasions like Nelson Mandela day.
Chad Gill and Gerald Brown pose with a cup for the camera.
Dawn Long makes her rounds in the dining hall of St Mary's Development Care Centre.
Gerald Brown and Mandla Msehla get ready to serve soup to the little ones.
Belinda de Lange and Delise Moriarty dishing up soup at a hot speed.
Soup, soup, everywhere, and lots and lots to drink.
And cupcakes!
On the playground of St Mary's Development Care Centre.
Little ones drinking soup.
Posing for the camera.
Students at the St Mary's Development Care Centre sitting around tables and drinking their soup.
Words and photographs by Annetjie van Wynegaard