Shaped by her mother’s quiet generosity, Rochelle de Klerk, 63, has carried that spirit into the heart of her community one bowl of soup at a time.
In the crowded streets of Parkside Second Creek, Local Hero De Klerk runs Lilly of the Valley, a nonprofit organisation she founded in 2017 to feed the most vulnerable.
What began as a small act of kindness has grown into a lifeline for about 200 people, many of them children who depend on her meals as their only source of food.
“It hasn’t been easy, as I struggled to keep it going because sponsors were few,” she said.
“Then Covid-19 hit, and everything fell apart.
“But my daughter asked me to start again because people, especially children and the elders, were going hungry.”
Operating from her home, De Klerk and four volunteers cook, serve and clean together.
Every Thursday, they prepare steaming pots of soup and slices of bread for children and adults who line up at her gate.
“I have a few weekly donors who bring meaty bones for the soup, and others help when they can, but often I have to dig into my own pocket just to make sure no-one is turned away.”
The hardest part, she says, is when the food runs out.
“It breaks my heart to tell the children there’s no more soup, and sometimes I give them the bread from my own kitchen.
“I just can’t send them away hungry.”
Her helpers come from different walks of life — some are unemployed, others collect recyclables to survive, yet all share the same goal: to make sure the poor have something to eat.
De Klerk’s drive comes from her belief that service is about using what you have to make a difference.
She dreams of expanding Lilly of the Valley into a daily feeding scheme focused on children’s health and nutrition.
“The cost of living keeps rising, and sometimes I feel like giving up, but I live for the people I feed, especially the children who look up to us.
“If I could do this every day for the rest of my life, I would, and I thank God for giving me the strength to continue.”
Daily Dispatch
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