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In Eldorado Park, a family feeding scheme wants to grow more of the food its community depends on. Nick Hamman is determined to help.
This story doesn’t have a happy ending. Yet.
Can Ubuntu be repeated?
I believe it will. I’ve seen what happens when South Africans decide something is worth fighting for. When a car crashed into And Fries, an establishment owned by Lwazi Madonsela in Soweto, a young entrepreneur’s livelihood was suddenly in pieces. We shared his story, people rallied, money was raised and those delicious chicken burgers made their way back into customers’ hands.
I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. Because my friends at the Mahalia Feeding Scheme have a dream and I want us to help make it happen.
In Eldorado Park, south of Johannesburg, Ella Barrows and her son David have spent more than a decade feeding their neighbours from their family home. Children, elderly residents and people who simply need a meal find care here, offered by a family whose resources are continually stretched.
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In 1965, the area was designated for people classified as coloured under apartheid’s Group Areas Act. Its story belongs to the broader history of a city divided by race with consequences that outlasted the laws themselves. Today, poverty, drug abuse and gang violence continue to place enormous pressure on families.
To reduce Eldos’s history and present to just that though, is a mistake. Spend time here and you also meet people like Ella and David. Their work deserves to be part of how we know this neighbourhood. With very limited resources, they have been running a feeding scheme called the Mahalia Feeding Scheme which provides food to the most vulnerable children and elderly for over a decade.
The Mahalia Feeding Scheme
On my first visit around two years ago, before the children ate, Ella spoke to them about staying safe and believing in themselves. There was something deeply moving about the care that went into both the food and those words.
Mahalia also offers Wi-Fi, aftercare and a safe place to spend time. For some children, the meal served here may be their only one that day.
And every visit I’ve had since then leaves me with the same question: what happens tomorrow?
My donation of time and resources helps fill today’s pots. Tomorrow Ella and David have to find a way to fill them again.
Recently, David told me about his hope for a community vegetable garden. Somewhere residents could grow food, learn together and supply fresh produce to the feeding scheme. A way to ease some of that daily pressure and give the community a greater hand in feeding itself.
I’ve started asking him about the land, permission and the practicalities and everything seems possible, with enough determination. There is no confirmed launch date or finished plan to announce.
Right now, we need people who understand how to establish a garden and keep it productive: the soil, the water, the planting and the ongoing care.
A garden won’t remove the need for donations or solve everything confronting Eldorado Park. But vegetables grown nearby and cooked in Ella’s kitchen could make a meaningful difference to what reaches those plates.
So I’m using this space to ask for help while the story is still unfolding. If you have growing experience, useful contacts, materials or funding to offer, please get in touch with me directly. Guidance matters just as much at this stage.
I’ll keep sharing our progress here, including the difficult bits. My promise is to keep working alongside Ella and David to give this dream a proper chance.
I know we will make this happen, and I am committing publicly to seeing this through. Let's do something meaningful for a community in need today.
To reach out:
- Phone / WhatsApp: 073 688 1700 (Contact person: David)
- Email Address: mfsfeeding@outlook.com
- Physical Address: 4007 Sneeuberg Street, Extension 2, Eldorado Park
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