IT’S a wet day when I visit Mama T, Tendai Rambique, in the house on Albany Road where she lives. This historic house carries history within its walls right down to its foundations.
The rain streaks the windows outside, but inside in Mama T’s kitchen, it’s cosy. Muffins are baking in the oven; she’s taken the chicken mince out of the freezer to cook later and distribute meals among the city’s hungry and homeless, and her stories of struggle, surrender and overcoming hardship warm the heart.
As I listen and observe, it becomes apparent that the house’s current inhabitants and visitors are still busy making history.
There is no end to this lady’s passion and fervour for God’s work which invariably includes serving and looking after others.
It is here that Mama T prepares 200 meals three times a week for the city’s homeless and with these, she carries a message of love, faith and hope to every person she meets. Even the t-shirt she wears has printed on it the Bible verse, 1 Corinthians 13:13, and the three principles – faith, hope and love – that Mama Tee lives by.
Through Mama Tee’s Foundation for the Homeless, she distributes food to the destitute in various places in Central and Newton Park. She also provides spiritual nourishment through her soup kitchen, ministering to the people and giving them opportunities to tell their stories.
“We have fellowship with the people and share the Word. That is why my soup kitchen is there: for Christ to be known; for God to be seen in and through us.”
Years ago, Mama T became a volunteer for the charity organisation, Love Story.
“This love and my soft spot for people on the streets have always been growing in me. When I joined Love Story, the people there said, ‘We’ve been praying for a motherly figure in the house. God has just answered. It is you, Mama T.’ The love of God has always been in the story. He puts people in our path that we need at certain times.”
During COVID, the charity couldn’t continue to operate.
“It was a difficult time. One day, as I walked home, I met a homeless person in the street. The street was empty and I felt fearful for my safety. I prayed for protection. As the man approached, he suddenly knelt down and said, ‘Mama T, we’re staying in the valley and we’re hungry.’ It hit me hard. I didn’t have an option but to help these people.
People asked me where I would get the food from and how I would do it; they told me that it was dangerous but nobody could stop me. By the grace of God, when my salary came in, I bought all the stuff I needed and started cooking from my house. My children helped me to cook and distribute the food.”
People, organisations, churches and volunteers then started coming forward offering their support. During that time, Mama T was also given two freezers and the blessings started flowing in. In 2024, an anonymous person donated a car to Mama T after hers, used for her deliveries, was stolen.
Today she is helped and supported by a lady who cooks for her; volunteers from churches; ministers; her congregation, Joy to the Nations; churches like The Full Gospel Church; volunteers from the University and qualified nurses. Funding and fundraising need to be ongoing though, and there are always challenges to overcome.
“We need belief and trust in God and in each other. Even if we’ve made wrong choices, there is still love out there. We tend to judge, label, and call people names without listening to their stories. But when we look with the eyes of God and see the heart, we see people for who they really are.”
Mama T’s Foundation sends a message of enduring hope and transformation. Her good humour and faith in God and humankind accompany her everywhere. “We are mothers and therefore we can’t give up. The people on the street treat me with much respect and listen to me. They know there is no VIP treatment; we are all treated the same. I have to be a tough cookie. But our God is the God of impossibles. What He started, He will complete.”
I’m sent off with a tight hug, a heart-warming prayer and some of Mama T’s freshly baked muffins. I feel nurtured, endlessly grateful and humbled.
For more info, visit her Facebook page: Mama T’s Street Feed Foundation, or phone her at 078 966 9330.
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