Mpiletso Motumi
BLACK tablecloths with leopard print overlays, fancy cutlery and serviettes neatly folded into glasses set the scene for the afternoon feast.
Instead of the usual bread and soup they receive from the soup kitchen at the Anglican church in Sophiatown, homeless people were invited to share a special celebration.
This was the way philanthropist Rev Eunice Marubelela chose to celebrate her 79th birthday.
The garden outside the Christ the King Anglican Church was beautifully decorated and laid out. More than 20 unemployed men sat around the tables and prepared to share in the festivities of the day.
Marubelela showed no frailty. When she spoke of the work she does, her strength shone through.
“I am so passionate about their wellbeing, we can’t just say ‘shame’. My birthday was on July 16 and I waited until I could have a birthday party with the people I care for,” she said.
Marubelela started her philanthropy work when she was still at St Albans Church in the Joburg CBD many years ago.
Over the years she started a creche for children who had nowhere to go when their parents went to work, began the mothers’ union at the Anglican church and collected clothes for the less fortunate.
“I want to express my joy. As people we are all the same. When the soup kitchen began, I prayed it would be a success and help the needy.
“It has been so many years, I can’t even begin to count how long I have been doing this,” Marubelela added.