Baking a legacy of strong Rehoboth women

Foshea Lewin is the fourth generation of her family to call Rehoboth home and comes from a lineage of strong and courageous women whose footsteps she follows.Lewin’s ancestors include a grandfather from Upington and a grandmother from the Cape who moved from neighbouring South Africa many years ago and put down roots in Rehoboth.“We now have four generations who are still alive. My grandmother is 83 and she is my inspiration,” Foshea says.As the eldest child, Foshea essentially grew up in her grandparents’ home and was regarded more as their child than their grandchild.It was her grandmother, Jetta Titus, who one day placed measuring spoons in her hands and said, “Here is the measuring cup, the flour and the recipe book,” sparking Foshea’s love for baking.They started with cake, and Foshea remembers grandmother Jetta’s plain, eggless cake, baked in a square pan without any icing. It was often her grandmother’s gift to one of her children or grandchildren.“We grew up with very little in Rehoboth and did not have much. That is why it was an eggless cake,” Foshea says.Grandmother Jetta had seven children whom she had to raise largely on her own.“My grandfather went to work one day and disappeared for seven years. She did not know where bread or anything else for her children would come from. She got up one morning, still wearing a stocking on her head, walked to a shop and started making chips there. That is how she raised her children and put them through school,” Foshea says.Her mother, Corola, was the eldest daughter and had to shoulder much of the responsibility for her younger brothers and sisters.“She had to raise those children because her mother had to go out and put bread on the table for them.”Struggle with alcoholismCorola was a housewife who also cleaned other people’s homes. She raised six children – four girls and two boys – and “we are all educated”, Foshea says proudly.Foshea’s father was a carpenter and was often away from home working in Windhoek. At the time, he struggled with alcoholism, but Foshea says her mother continued to support him throughout the years.“I always tell my daughter that we are strong women and that we come from strong women. Not to diminish the men, but it is the women who came before us who made us who we are.”Like grandmother Jetta, Corola also baked, but she crocheted and knitted as well. Foshea remembers her mother knitting socks for newborn babies and selling them at the local hospital.“I always tell my daughter that you will never go to bed hungry as long as you have two hands.”Today, Foshea bakes everything from biscuits and large cakes to rusks and bread, which she sells in Rehoboth.On Saturdays, she runs a braai stall in front of the Baster Kaptein’s office.There are always biscuits or freshly baked bread at home, Foshea says.“I usually bake in the evenings, which works best, but sometimes I have a large order and then I work right through the night until the next morning.”Foshea started working “basically straight out of school” because studying further was not an option and she had a younger brother and sister to look after.For years, she found herself caught in the daily routine of working as an assistant accountant. Eventually, the pull of the kitchen and her passion for baking became strong enough for her to leave her permanent job.She says she enjoys being at home and being present for her children.“This time is so special to me because I can enjoy it with my children. I get up with them, and when they come home, their mother is there and there is something for them to eat.”– henriette@republikein.com.na

Baking a legacy of strong Rehoboth women

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-05

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Baking a legacy of strong Rehoboth women

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-05

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