Early in February, children at the Abraham Kriel Children’s Home, Nylstroom tried their hand at baking cupcakes when our Chief Executive Officer, Gerda van der Merwe, launched a baking school at the home.

A group of 25 aspiring young bakers arrived for the first lesson in the well-equipped kitchen at the Abraham Koffiewinkel. They were then divided into smaller groups and began to get to grips with the basics of baking. The recipe was read out step by step and the first batch was prepared. For some of the children, it was a special moment to bake a cupcake themselves for the very first time, and the baking session rang with laughter and chatter.

By eight o’clock that evening, a total of 230 cupcakes had been baked! After the lesson, the kitchen was tidied up again and a few tired but excited children walked back to their houses, ready for the next phase of the project: decorating.

Naturally, there were plenty of “just a quick taste” tests to make sure the icing was as good as it looked.

“This is certainly not the end of this project. A weekly baking session is something our children look forward to. Besides the time together, these baking sessions teach our children practical skills they can also use in the future,” Gerda van der Merwe said enthusiastically.