Marnella se Opsitkers - where people meet (met) 🕯️

Dear Kuierkos Family,

I hope this letter finds you well and with a smile ready, because I have the most heart-warming news to share. Something truly special happened… our very first match was made at the Opsitkers! Yes, you read that right. True story. A real couple. At the real Opsitkers. And they even came to share it with us in person. My heart could hardly handle it.
Andreas just laughed and said, “You’re such a romantic at heart,” and honestly… he’s right. I am. Growing up, I always heard magical stories about the Opsitkers – usually while listening to stories on the radio with my ouma. (audio books in the 70’s) Those tales painted such a charming picture: A young man wanting to court a girl would make an appointment to visit her after dinner. Only a single candle would light the room — because in those days candles were precious, no wasting allowed. The length of the candle said everything. If the parents didn’t like the young man, the candle was short. If they thought he may be “the one,” they gave a nice long candle and time to talk.
It must have been the world my grandparents grew up in - a world without apps, swipes, or ghosting. Just pure, simple connection.
When Andreas and I created the Opsitkers event, our intention was similar: to give people the chance to meet. Moving to a new country is not easy. Many people arrive on their own, or after a separation. We’ve heard so many stories - people being ghosted, dates not going anywhere, or simply struggling to form real friendships. Yet we South Africans have an incredible gift: Give us 5 questions and suddenly we discover our moms were in the same primary school, our uncles played rugby together, and your cousin once dated my cousin’s neighbour. We’re built for connection.
That is what Opsitkers is. A place to meet new friends, someone to travel with, a buddy to watch the Springboks play Ireland in a pub, or even someone who understands the things we miss from home — our families, the food, the familiar places, and the stories that shaped us.
With that in mind, I would love to invite you — and anyone you think may enjoy meeting new people — to join us for our next Opsitkers.
Come for a lekker kuier, good conversation, and who knows…
Thank you for being part of the Kuierkos family. Thank you for your warmth, your stories, and for making this community something truly special.

Lots of love,
Marnella & Andreas