The Soup Bowl: More than just a wholesome meal
Every Friday between noon and 1 p.m., some125 people wait in line for a meal at Scott Hall next to the Kollupitiya Methodist Church. The lunch they are served is provided to them each week by the Soup Bowl, a charitable organisation that focuses on helping needy elders, children, the homeless and the underprivileged. Started by Rishani Sittampalam, it’s a small but dedicated group of eight.
The young volunteers doing their bit
“After work, I would take a walk to Hill Street, Dehiwala where I lived and see a lot of people begging on the street. Since it was close to dinner time, I would buy parcels of food and distribute to people who lived on that stretch. A lot of my friends and colleagues contributed too and I was able to provide a meal for several people on that very small stretch of road,” says Rishani about the origins of the Soup Bowl.
Several years later, a group of friends decided to take a wholesome soup with buns to a children’s home in Mount Lavinia. “That was our very first Soup Bowl project. Since then we have expanded from giving a soup to providing a wholesome meal,” Rishani says.
The other members that keep the cogs of the Soup Bowl wheel turning are Erandi Narangoda, Pasan David, Kshanika Argent, Ruwanthi Elwalagedara, Priyadharshini Niles, Chamathka U. Gamage and Shehan Semasinghe. Volunteering in their spare time, they also work on several other projects. Last month, the child volunteers also helped serve food at the Friday lunches.
Rishani Sittampalam
They also visit a children’s or elders’ home every month, or organise special lunches for specific groups. In July it was a lunch for Abans street cleaners. They also hope to visit the Prisons later this year and are working towards holding a Christmas event where they give 250 gift packs of essential and handy items.
A programme called WeGiveStuffAway is also fast becoming popular. “We ask people for nominations of families in need and people for donations of 5000 Rupees, with which we buy a pack of groceries for the family and then deliver it. That is how WeGiveStuffAway (WGSA) came about. Through that we started collecting surplus vegetables and fruits from supermarkets from Monday to Friday during the night and also from homebakers and giving them to different homes and families in need,” explains Erandi Narangoda. If there are any people who have surplus food after an event or party, they are directed to a home where they can hand over the food. Acting as middleman the Soup Bowl connects people who need help and people who want to help.
Their long term goal is to have a fully fledged 24- hour soup kitchen where anyone can walk in to have a meal, have a community to talk to and maybe shower facilities too, Erandi says. They also hope to get people linked to jobs so that they will be able to get back on their feet.
For more information, call Rishani on 0774841134 or Erandi on 0714233614 or visit their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheSoupBowlSriLanka/.