By Koviao Matuzee
In Swakopmund’s DRC informal settlement, a simple meal is becoming a symbol of hope for vulnerable children, young people, women and families.
At the center of this work is Carolina Kasenda, a community activist and founder of Little Lady’s Haven Foundation and Soup Kitchen, an initiative birthed from a simple act of kindness that grew into a broader mission to restore dignity and create opportunities.
As a survivor of gender-based violence (GBV), Kasenda knows what it means to need support during difficult times.
Rather than allowing her experience to define her, she chose to use it to help others.
“I believe that my experiences should not only be something that happened to me; they can also be used to help someone else find strength and rebuild their life,” Kasenda said.
Little Lady’s Haven began when Kasenda started providing meals to a few children connected to a single mother.
As more people reached out for assistance, she realized the need extended far beyond those first few children.
Today, the soup kitchen supports vulnerable children, families, and individuals in the DRC and surrounding communities.
Its reach also includes teenage mothers, unemployed young people and vulnerable women.
However, according to Kasenda, filling an empty stomach is only the beginning.
“We believe that food alone cannot solve poverty,” she says.
The foundation therefore combines food assistance with clothing donations, skills development, literacy initiatives, youth empowerment and other community programs aimed at helping people become self-reliant.
For young people, the goal is particularly important.
Kasenda wants them to have opportunities to develop skills, build confidence, and discover their abilities rather than becoming trapped in cycles of poverty and dependence.
“We want to help someone move from simply receiving assistance to eventually being able to create opportunities for themselves and others,” she says.
The foundation’s work also reflects Kasenda’s personal understanding of the challenges faced by women and girls experiencing GBV.
Where possible, Little Lady’s Haven provides a safe space and temporary shelter while survivors receive support and begin rebuilding their lives.
According to Kasenda, some of the most powerful moments are not necessarily the biggest ones.
They are the moments when a child receives a meal, a family receives clothing or a woman finds a safe environment when she has nowhere else to turn.
“What stays with me most is seeing how something that may seem small to us can mean so much to another person,” she said.
Those moments continue to fuel her commitment to community work.
“Community work is not about recognition for me; it is about knowing that I made someone’s life a little easier,” Kasenda added.
Her vision for Little Lady’s Haven is ambitious.
She hopes to establish a permanent community center where vulnerable people can access food, clothing, humanitarian assistance, skills training, and support.
She also dreams of creating a proper temporary shelter for women and girls affected by GBV.
She also wants to expand literacy, skills development, income-generating, and empowerment programs for young people, she believes this can help them build independent futures.
Ultimately, Kasenda wants Little Lady’s Haven to become more than a soup kitchen.
She wants it to be a place where people can find dignity, safety, and a second chance.
“I want Little Lady’s Haven to be known as a place of hope,” she says, “where a hungry child can find food, where someone in need can find clothing, where a woman escaping GBV can find safety, and where a young person can discover that they still have a future,” she added.
According to Kasenda, every bowl served is therefore about more than food.
It is a reminder that compassion can open a door, and that even the smallest act of kindness can help someone take the next step towards a better life.
