When we first heard about the incredible work done by the local company Soete Swaan Stroopwafels, we knew we had to get involved. In addition to being the perfect coffee companion, their delicious stroopwafels come with a beautiful story.
It all started with Hanka and Derk Oosterveld, a young couple from the Netherlands. After graduating from university, Hanka travelled to South Africa to complete an internship. While in South Africa, she became involved in the Victory4All Skills Center, an NGO in Jeffreys Bay. The facility assists children with both mental and learning disabilities and aims to break the cycle of poverty through education.
The Start Of The Journey
Hanka fell in love with the center’s work and knew that she wanted to do more for the children she met there. After completing her internship and moving back to the Netherlands she immediately started raising money to sponsor her next visit back to Victory4All. This would be the beginning of her, and later her husband’s, 14-year involvement in the center.
Today Victory4All has over 800 students and assists with education, life skills development, and extracurricular activities for children with disabilities or those who might have lost their way in the government schooling system.
Soete Swaan Stroopwafels
After working with Victory4All for a few years, Derk saw that the setbacks their students faced often made it hard for them to find work once they left school. He realised that to ensure employment opportunities for these young adults, they would have to create the jobs themselves. Derk and Hanka then set out to come up with a business idea.
Being from the Netherlands, the local sweet treat “stroopwafels” came to mind. Many of the stroopwafels that were available in South Africa were imported from the Netherlands and there was a gap in the market for authentic South African stroopwafels made from local ingredients. This is how the Soete Swaan business was born!
Structured to work alongside the varying abilities of their employees, the jobs created by Soete Swaan give these individuals financial security as well as purpose and community. Derk is firm in his belief that no matter a person’s disability, everyone has a talent or skill to offer, it’s just about taking the time to uncover it. Soete Swaan aims to use these talents in their employees to bring you the sweetest treat with an even sweeter story.
We couldn’t be prouder to have them on our shelves!
