A Citizens Day Celebration with L’Oréal and Basadi Ba Moshito
On 4 July 2025, SA Harvest marked Citizens Day with more than just a food activation. We sparked connection, honoured resilience, and built a bridge between purpose-driven partners.
Together with L’Oréal South Africa and Basadi Ba Moshito (BBM), a Centurion-based organisation supporting women affected by gender-based violence, we created an experience that went far beyond the kitchen.
More Than a Meal. A Moment That Mattered.
We welcomed 30 L’Oréal volunteers to BBM for a Cooking for a Cause activation. This wasn’t about charity. It was about celebration and shared humanity.
The women of BBM, recent graduates of a life-changing training programme, were invited back to the centre not to receive aid, but to be honoured.
Under the guidance of SA Harvest’s chef Pinky Tshabalala, L’Oréal’s team cooked for the women who had just taken powerful steps toward rebuilding their lives. Laughter echoed, stories flowed, and gratitude filled the room.
And when L’Oréal handed out goodie bags filled with their signature products, it wasn’t about the items themselves. It was about recognition. About saying, “We see you. We celebrate you.”
Giving That Grows
But the most impactful moment wasn’t what we gave. It was how we gave it.
Ahead of the event, SA Harvest made a conscious choice to purchase aprons from BBM’s own community pop-up shop, which sells second-hand and branded clothing to raise funds for their work.
Instead of sourcing aprons from a commercial supplier, we chose to invest directly into BBM’s sustainability model.
As SA Harvest’s Marketing Coordinator, Maphefo Monyepao, shared:
“We should never go into communities to steal their stories. We can’t just listen to people speak about their pain, pay them with a meal, and leave them in the same situation. By buying aprons from Basadi Ba Moshito, we planted a seed of change. We were trying to make a valuable difference.”
This wasn’t a transaction. It was a statement of support. A step toward long-term empowerment. And it didn’t stop there.
Aprons proudly purchased from the Basadi Ba Moshito store to support their community-led business.
Impact That Echoes
Moved by the experience, L’Oréal invited BBM’s founders – Antoinette Maluleke and her daughters Harmony Malope and Karabo Maluleke – to be featured in their Celebrating Women campaign during Women’s Month.
They were treated to a full hair and makeup experience and took part in a professional photo shoot that captured their strength, leadership, and the incredible journey they’ve walked together.
For these women, it wasn’t just a pamper session. It was a mirror. A moment to pause, reflect, and recognise their own power.
A beautiful moment of reflection – Antoinette Maluleke looks at herself after being pampered by the L’Oréal makeup team.
The SA Harvest Way: Food as a Starting Point
At SA Harvest, food is never the end goal. It is the invitation – to sit at the table, to share stories, to build trust, and to spark change.
Cooking for a Cause is one of the ways we make this real. We don’t just deliver food. We deliver connections. We enter communities with humility. We listen. We look for ways to support that go beyond charity and move into collaborative impact.
We’re proud to have helped connect L’Oréal and Basadi Ba Moshito. These are two organisations that, in different ways, are championing women and rewriting the story of what community partnerships can look like.
Because when we come together with clear purpose and open hearts, real change happens.