The lack of skills and development is one of the social ills faced by many South Africans. As township populations flounder with little education and dwindling prospects, new learning opportunities are becoming increasingly essential to the upward mobility of South Africa’s poor. The community cooking class aims to take unemployed members of the Umlazi community and teach them the necessary skills to start their own businesses.
Students get taught how to create invoices, Cook, Bake and clean.
Like many rural areas, Umlazi is marred by a lack of unemployment. Mary Ann Vundla affectionately known as Mama Mary Ann and the Hirsch Community Kitchen are doing their bit to uplift Umlazi’s community through cooking and baking as well as offering Domestic Workers Courses and Business Networking Meetings.
Mary Ann as a mother to her students she welcomes men and woman of different ages to join her cooking classes or any of the other classes she hosts. With her ability to ladle entrepreneurship into her charges, Mama Mary Ann is bringing a new wave of hope to the Umlazi community.
Food is about enjoyment, says Mary Ann, she enriches her students with the ability to give others a taste of indulgence while allowing them to build a livelihood, at the end of her course each student is awarded a certificate that they can use to show that they can cook, bake and clean for them to be able to get a job.
Big thank you to the amazing sponsors to the Hirsch Community Kitchen that make this dream a reality, Miele (appliances), Samsung (microwaves), Tile Africa (Tiles),Ashkraft (kitchen cupboards), Port Natal Paints (Paint), Unilever, Knorrox and Knorr (product), Blinds Décor (blinds).
The morning was full of excitement and joy for the students, pastor’s and the sponsors that attended the Grand Opening.
For more information on the Hirsch Community Kitchen, please go to www.hirschcommunitykitchen.co.za
Pictured: Richard Hirsch, Diana Lindsay, Cheryl Woollaat, Mary Ann Vundla, Babongile Lalinga, Lindwe Zulu & Margaret Hirsch