Amazing Grace Upliftment Centre spreads joy on Mandela Day by serving over 750 meals

The Westlake-based  Amazing Grace Upliftment Centre non-profit spread the Mandela Day spirit on Friday, July 18, by serving over 750  meals to the community.

The Amazing Grace Upliftment Centre CEO, Lydia Ingpen, said they first served over 350 children in the morning with pizza, hot chips and juice and then in the afternoon they served chicken biryani to over 400 adults .

The meals were donated by a restaurant franchise, beverage company and a financial services company.

Ward 71 councillor Carolynne Franklin also donated over 100 meals towards Amazing Grace’s Mandela Day initiative.

Ms Ingpen said that Madiba was a huge inspiration for her. “Mandela Day is not only about helping people, it is about celebrating his life, what he stood for, and how he wanted to unite everybody, so today we wanted to make everyone feel special from the children to the adults,” she said.

The Amazing Grace Upliftment Centre has been around for 10 years, and Ms Ingpen said her organisation tries to make a difference in the community. “We run a soup kitchen where we try to serve the homeless, the elderly, or people who do not have access to a lot of money,” she said.

Ms Ingpen said that her organisation also conducted a social media drive to collect more dry goods like rice and cereal for their meals. The organisation also runs their Amazing Kids educare centre from their base in Westlake, and they have a safe house to help the most vulnerable children.

Ms Ingpen said one of her organisation’s main objectives is to help children on the streets, to get them into the schooling system, or to provide them with assistance with receiving identification documents.

Westlake resident, Matilda Cochrane, a retired nurse, said that Amazing Grace is doing a great job in the community. “If you have any problems, you can go to Lydia. She is fond of taking care of the children, and she puts a lot of effort into uplifting the children,” she said.

Westlake resident, Diego Cornelius,16, who also does volunteer work for the organisation, said they do amazing work. “They work well with the youth, and they also help the seniors by providing them with bread. Though the organisation can only do so much, and they need more support, both from the community and outsiders. I would urge outsiders to get more involved, “ he said.  Diego says he even helps the organisation out when they have Christmas parties, and the organisation would also help him when he hosts a talent show for the community.

If anyone would like to find out more about Amazing Grace Upliftment Centre, you can visit https://www.amazinggraceupliftmentcentre.com/