People and Places : Central Methodist Church : Paballo : soup kitchen


Central Methodist Church : Paballo : soup kitchen


Soup kitchen Paballo ya Batho means 'Caring for the People' in seSotho, and part of the mission is to go into the city and serve people living on the streets, standing alongside them. Unusually, this soup kitchen goes out to meet the people where they live, with two convoys visiting half-a-dozen stops in central Johannesburg every Wednesday night.

	preparing for the evening, then loading soup, bread and medicines

There are several stops on each of the two routes the soup kitchen takes. This is the first stop in the 'inner city' run, on the east side of the Central Business District of Johannesburg. A small community lives in a derelict building, and it takes a while for eyes to adjust to the dark and the smoke from the fires lit within the rooms for warmth in winter.

	distributing food, and making friends

The soup, cooked up in huge vats, and bread donated by a generous local Chinese trader, has to feed 400+ people. Normally we'd only have enough for a cup and few slices each, but this night a special donation of bread let us make an additional run, giving out a loaf each. Shared fires are often a focus for companionship, conversation and songs in the cold winter months. Handing out much needed goods to large groups of people can easily become hectic. Over the years, Paballo has developed wide experience of street distribution, and good rapport within the local homeless communities. Other organisations often call on Paballo's expertise: in this case, assisting a local Buddhist group to distribute food and clothing.
Paballo runs thanks to generous donations, and our committed and diverse team of volunteers. A lot of people get hooked after a first visit, as they realise how interesting and rewarding the experience is, starting to build friendships in the communities we visit. See the Paballo website to find out how to get involved. These are some of our 'regulars' in 2002-4: