There are thousands of homeless people roaming the streets at any given time. Many of these people have nowhere to go and have to resort to sleeping under bridges, in parks, or in rundown buildings. Winter is upon us and this year promises to be brutal. We are raising funds to buy blankets, warm clothing, shoes and non-perishable foods to help the homeless survive the winter. Your donation could save a life this winter.
Driving through the streets of Kensington one evening, I came across an elderly gentlemen sleeping on the grass outside a church. I pulled over and asked him if he was ok and he told me he had nowhere to go. He only had a blanket that was donated to him and the clothes on his back. I asked of there were no shelters in the area I could take him to. He explained that the shelters were filled to capacity, especially during winter. There was a shortage of food, clothing, blankets and even sleeping space. He roamed the streets everyday in hopes of finding an empty house or room he could use for the night. Whenever he failed to find shelter, he slept on grass and wrapped himself up in his blanket.
Many suffer the same fate as this elderly gentlemen and with winter upon us, many fail to survive through it. This gentlemen told me how he had been sick for a while, contracting various illnesses such as bronchitis, flu, tuberculosis and had managed to fight them off. He now has a terrible cough and looks forward to the summer heat.
Hearing this gentlemen’s story made us realise how fortunate we are. We have roofs over our heads, a warm bed, warm food and other things we often take for granted. We would like to raise money to help people like Bab’ Msibi by buying them blankets, winter clothing, food, shoes and socks to wear just to see them through.
Our ultimate goal is to build a shelter for the homeless, to provide them with a place to stay and some of the comforts of home. For now, we would just like to ensure that as many homeless people as possible survive the winter.
We can not do this alone and that is why we plead with everyone to take part in this project to raise funds and make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate.
500 Hands has one ultimate driving mission: to improve the lives of the less fortunate.
1. Help the homeless people living on the streets survive the winter
2. Sponsor homeless school going children with school shoes and uniform
3. Build a homeless shelter
We have decided to divide our ultimate goal into three smaller goals to enable us to tackle each task efficiently. We hope achieve our ultimate goal of building a homeless shelter that will accommodate families by the end of 2017.
For now, we would like to raise R60 000.00 to purchase blankets, clothes, shoes and non-perishable food items. We need your help to make this a reality and we urge you to take part as your contribution could save a life.
We are always on the look out for new projects to take part in.
From 2011-2013 we took part in a community engagement project to refurbish a preschool in the Eastern Cape. In 2014 we raised money to buy books and learning materials for a day care centre in Limpopo. In 2015 we engaged in Life Coaching for at risk youth in Hammanskraal. During 2016, we started our Winter Drive