Mama Mandisa's Soup Cell

We are gogos who have been meeting together since 2003. We regularly have bible study and prayer. We are all committed in our local churches and serve the community in many ways. We love to pray. Many of our children have died of HIV/AIDS and we – as gogos – are taking care of our grandchildren.

We grow vegetables, we make pillows to sell and also sew Isishweshwe (traditional dress). We have a growing market for our pillows because we make them well. We also knit hats and scarf’s which we also sell.

Our goals are to support grandmothers who are taking care of their grandchildren; generate income by selling our crafts in the local community; help community members who are hungry by feeding them a nutritional soup; and see hope restored to our communities through prayer and bible study.

We seek to comfort the community through our care and support. There is much exploitation that happens because we are too dependent on the government for help and support. So we are helping members of the community to do more for themselves.