The Railways Cafe in Irene has started supporting their local homeless community as well the artists that relied on their partons, by serving 200 meals daily!
Irene, South Africa (14 April 2020) – The Railways Cafe at Makers Village in Irene, Centurion has found a way to stay open during the lockdown, but they are not making money, they are preparing food for the homeless and the struggling artists that once relied on the patrons of the cafe.
The cafe is making meals for 200 people every single day! Railways Café is part of the Makers Village in Irene that was developed by the Makers Foundation.
“Covid19 has exposed how vulnerable our communities are in terms of food security or food sovereignty! With informal traders/street vendors off the street due to the lockdown, it’s very difficult to imagine how our people are coping!”
The Makers Village is a community-based initiative of the Makers Foundation a non-profit organisation, primarily aimed to harness the benefits of technology for small entrepreneurs. The initiative is a community effort to mobilize the collective strengths of people from various streams and integrate it with information technology to provide benefits to the community.
“The Makers Foundation believes in a socially inclusive society in which everyone can participate. That is why we support initiatives that help vulnerable people (re)gain their place in society. A place where they can work, evolve and feel part of society. It will enhance peoples’ personal development and involvement with one another and their surroundings. Makers always look for social initiatives that show an entrepreneurial, creative and innovative approach”
To ensure the people they work with are coping through this time, knowing full well that without customers, the artists cannot earn a living, the team at Railways started making food instead.
Through their initiative, the homeless and the families of their artists are thankfully able to eat during the lockdown. These are hard times, but together we are stronger, and we can make the world a better place. If you would like to support the cafe, you can find out more about them via Facebook here.