The Birthday Cake Project SA gives people the chance of baking a surprise for old aged home or safe house residents on their birthday’s.
Knysna, South Africa (29 October 2019) – Part-time cake maker Karin Rademeyer-Pretorius joined the Birthday Cake Project SA to give back. The Birthday Cake Project SA is a collective that works to inspire.
It is a simple act of kindness to bake a cake for someone else. Many people never get to experience the joy of having a birthday cake on their big day. Thabile Thabethe started the project in 2011 when he was just 16 years old. He hoped it would bring joy to orphaned children in South Africa.
The aim is for bakers to select a charity or orphanage and support them by providing birthday cakes. Karin chose the Lukhanyiso Safe House in Concordia, Knysna to support. She bakes beautiful cakes for the orphaned and underprivileged children who live there.
Lilani, Karin’s daughter, wanted to highlight not only her mother’s incredible efforts to bring joy to children but the organisation that connects talented bakers to children and organisations in need.
“She does this as part of The Birthday Cake Project SA, which is an initiative where bakers choose a charity or foundation of their choice and bake birthday cakes for the people there (like elderly at an old age home, or children at a safe house). These kids have never had their birthdays celebrated with gifts and birthday cakes, some only having their first-ever birthday cake as teenagers when my mom bakes it for them.
My mom tries to make it as special as possible, and has put a smile on the faces of so many little ones! Andrew Pohlman of Knysna PartWise sponsors the ingredients for some of her cakes, but otherwise, she does it on her own financially.”
Sometimes there will be quite a few birthdays at once in the house. Karin does everything she can to make sure every child has a cake for their special day. Not only does she gift cakes to the children, but she also surprises the staff, helpers and drivers.
“There are a lot of children at the safe house and some months it’s a struggle to do them all, but she makes sure every single child, as well as the helpers and drivers there, receives one on their birthday. She loves children and is a very talented cake decorator, so she goes out of her way to find out what each child likes and then makes them a beautiful cake which all the children can enjoy at the party thrown at the safe house.”
Anyone can join the Birthday Cake Project; you will be paired to a home near you and can decide for yourself how to support them. Some people, like Karin, enjoy baking cakes for each resident or you can make a monthly cake to celebrate the birthdays of all residents in that month.
You can get more info on how to join the Birthday Cake Project via their website here or via Facebook here. Below is a gallery of just some of the cakes Karin has made this year.
So tell us, do you have a love of baking?
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