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Writes Marlvin Ngiza
Valentine’s Day on Wednesday brought smiles to 150 homeless and underprivileged people in the city of Harare following a warm gesture of food donations by the Reach Out Foundation (ROF) through their Share A Meal Campaign.
The gesture targeted and benefited homeless people, the elderly and people with disabilities in areas which include Coppa Cabana bus terminus, Joina City and around Harare Town House.
Speaking about the initiative, ROF Visionary, Dumisani Hamandishe, said the move was aimed at showering love to the underprivileged, challenge discrimination of the group and create a platform that would help homeless people to express their concerns which will work as a road map to lure them out of the streets.
“We decided to share love through a healthy, warm meal with the homeless children, people with disabilities and the elderly people living in the streets of Harare as a way of celebrating Valentine’s Day. The Share A Meal Campaign is a programme aimed at sharing love through food donations and fellowship with a strong desire to extend it to become a monthly, weekly or daily program if our resources permit.
“We provided a warm, healthy and home cooked meal as a way of showing them that they are loved and remembered, hoping that we can lure the children out of the streets and get them to safer homes where they can focus on having a better lifestyle. Our target was to share 250 plates though we ended up serving less due to the unavailability of the beneficiaries we were targeting and also our authorization letter was not allowing us to reach into other areas of the CBD,” said Hamandishe.
Some of the beneficiaries who spoke to this publication revealed that they felt a sense of belonging to society while appealing for further assistance and interventions that would see them out of the streets.
“We have always been neglected and people think that we are thugs but the truth is we are in the streets because of challenges of life. If we can get something to do, we are willing to abandon the streets anytime. Today we were blessed with food and we had time to interact with other people in a better way,” he said.
Another beneficiary who identified herself as Chipo said: “Living in streets is not a choice but a move of desperation. I am grateful to ROF for remembering us. Today, we benefited a warm meal each and a chance to interact with people who did not judge us or look at us as social misfits. As young ladies, we also need to get sanitary wear assistance and some of us wish to be reunited with our families,” said Chipo.
ROF, apart from food assistance, also advocates for the protection of children’s rights and organises empowerment programmes with future plans of establishing a channel for reintegration of homeless people into society.
