Feeding hope: How 2 women are fighting hunger and inspiring change

IOL News

3 days ago

Two inspiring women from Cape Town, Samson Salie and Lezaan Basson, lead their communities in the fight against food insecurity, using innovative cooking solutions to uplift and inspire others.
Image: File picture
In communities across South Africa, women are rewriting the script of resilience by turning simple ideas into tools for transformation.
This Women's Month, we shine a light on two remarkable Cape Town women whose leadership, care, and ingenuity have uplifted hundreds.
Through a humble yet ingenious cooking solution, they've found a way to fight food insecurity, save time and money, and inspire others to dream bigger.
Their stories are proof that empowerment often starts in the kitchen and radiates far beyond it.
In Bonteheuwel, the warmth of a home-cooked meal is more than just comfort, it's a lifeline.
For more than 15 years, community leader, mother, and grandmother Samson Salie has been using an innovative heat-retention cooking method to prepare meals for her neighbourhood.
What began as a way to beat load shedding has grown into a mission: to feed, teach, and empower.
Samson Salie
Image: Supplied
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Samson was among the first to recognise the Wonderbag, a South African-designed, electricity-free slow cooker, as more than just a household helper.
For her, it became a vehicle for change. She embraced the chance to become a 'Wonderpreneur', teaching others how to use it to cook nutritious meals, reduce electricity costs, and build small businesses of their own.
Two decades ago, Samson started a food distribution project that continues to this day. Using the bag, she cooks beans, lentils, and stews in bulk without the need for constant supervision or power.
She trains women's clubs, unemployed youth, and the elderly, not just in cooking, but in confidence and self-reliance.
Her message to young women is simple: 'Surround yourself with people who uplift you. Get your education, find your confidence, and stay the course — whatever you do, do it with perseverance and heart.'
Across the city in Northpine, Lezaan Basson is creating her own ripple effect.
A frontline community worker with the Western Cape Missing Persons Unit and a partner of the Department of Social Development, Lezaan supports some of the province's most vulnerable residents.
Lezaan Basson
Image: Supplied
When she first encountered the Wonderbag at a local event in Delft, she immediately saw its potential to improve lives. Since then, she's introduced it to soup kitchens, schools, and old-age homes, particularly in areas where food insecurity and load shedding hit hardest.
For the elderly, it's a safe, easy way to cook and in communities in crisis, it's a dependable lifeline.
Beyond cooking, Lezaan invests in skills training, helping people learn trades such as hairdressing, sewing, and first aid. Her greatest reward, she says, is seeing others believe in their own abilities: 'I never knew how much strength I had until I saw how many people wanted to learn from me. Now, children run up to me and say, 'I want to be like Aunty Lezaan.' That's when I know I'm doing something right.'
Her advice to young women is equally powerful: 'Look in the mirror and believe in yourself. Have faith in the journey, even if it takes ten years. Be determined, stay grounded, and never stop trying to uplift others along the way.'
This Women's Month, we celebrate women like Samson and Lezaan - innovators, mentors, and leaders who are proving that change can begin with something as small as a bag, and grow into a movement that changes lives.
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