“My aim is to bring smiles on children’s faces for Christmas,” said Candice Winnaar.
Every year, Winnaar hosts a kiddies Christmas lunch, when children from less fortunate backgrounds get to partake in the Christmas spirit.
On Wednesday, the children were again at the Victoria Park Methodist Church, queuing up for the warm meals prepared by Winnaar and her family.
Winnaar said she first had the idea to host the lunches after she noticed that many of the children had no one to share Christmas joy with.
“I drove past some street children one day. What I saw broke my heart. Ever since that day I always felt I needed to do something,” said Winnaar.
After many sleepless nights, it was the blessings in her life that inspired her to share the festive joy.
“I dreamed that I needed to do something good. It so happened that December 15 is my wedding anniversary, so I thought seeing that God had blessed me so much, this was what I needed to do – give these children something to celebrate during this time of family and festivity” she said.
Since 2013, Winnaar, has been hosting the lunches, making hearty meals and organising games for the children. Although this year was a bit different because of Covid-19, “Mrs Claus” was not deterred.
“My aim is to bring smiles on children’s faces for Christmas, to feed the ones who cannot afford food and to fight crime in our community.
“Since the pandemic started I have been having soup kitchens for the children and elderly people in our community. Every December 16 we have the lunch for the children. It is something I do with my husband, children and grandchildren. It is how we spread Christmas as a family.”
