At 58, East London resident Bernadine Norton has turned her lifelong passion of helping others into a mission through her Net ’n Bietjie Liefde soup kitchen in Egoli.
Founded in 2016, the project serves more than 300 people, from babies to the elderly, twice a week, usually on Mondays and Wednesdays.
“I grew up feeding people with my granny. It’s something I’ve done since childhood because I come from a very poor community,” she said.
Today, she balances running her own events company with spearheading the soup kitchen and community upliftment projects.
Besides serving food and providing clothing, she also mobilises unemployed youth to plant vegetable gardens and take part in neighbourhood clean-up campaigns.
Norton also has a vegetable garden that benefits the community which was offered by one of the local schools, and employs 32 youth who receive monthly stipends.
“They offered us a section which we use to plant vegetables on condition that we clean up the premises, so we have volunteers from our community who do that.”
She said the community was burdened with a high rate of unemployment, substance abuse, high school dropouts, and teenage pregnancies.
“The conditions in this area are not pleasing at all, and it seems to get worse with time.
“Our community struggles with poverty and unemployment.
“For me, it is about giving back and seeing the difference you can make when people are fed, clothed and given a chance,” she said.
Though much of the work is done from her own pocket, she hopes to secure sponsorships to expand the feeding scheme and sustain its projects.
“It breaks my heart when I see little faces knocking at my door, asking for food and saying they haven’t had anything the whole day.”
What brought her joy was being able to better people’s lives and seeing how appreciative they were,she said.
“We do what we can with what we have. But with support, we can reach even more people who need that bit of love and care.
Enid Mantoor, 62, who has been coming to the soup kitchen since it started, said the initiative meant a lot to the residents, as most had little to no income.
“It means a lot to see a woman that sacrifices her time to serve her community.
“I look up to her, because she is a woman that shines.
“Not a lot of people have a heart as pure as hers; she could’ve focused on her family but instead, she makes us part of her family.”
Moira Domoney, who nominated Norton for the Daily Dispatch Local Hero Awards, said she was a beacon of hope in Egoli, serving her community with sacrifice, passion and dedication.
Despite limited resources, she had established initiatives aimed at uplifting the vulnerable, from children and families in need of food, to unemployed youth searching for direction.
“Through her feeding scheme, she ensures no-one goes to bed hungry, often reaching into her own pocket to finance meals and food parcels when donations fall short.”
She said Norton also organised clean-up campaigns to restore pride in the neighbourhood, always preparing meals afterwards to thank volunteers.
“It’s not just about cleaning the streets, it is about building unity and ownership,” Domoney said.
She also collaborated with other NPOs to run youth programmes where young people earned stipends, learnt responsibility, and discovered the value of giving back.
“On her birthday, and even her son’s, she celebrates not with gifts but with service, feeding up to 300 people and inviting speakers to address issues such as GBV, addiction, and health.
“I believe in celebrating life by giving rather than receiving.”
Daily Dispatch
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