Group helps restore dignity
To help a person in need is a selfless act that needs to be commended.
For people who always wish to help, but do not know how, ‘Pay it forward’ is the platform to do so. Started in July of 2011, by Mr Greg Wells-Clifton, the initiative continues to grow, thereby giving more people the ability and the platform to assist others. On August 17, the initiative will celebrate its second birthday, along with 5 779 people who have liked the initiative on Facebook.
The founder, Mr Wells-Clifton, does not believe in hand-outs.
“We call it a hand-up because we don’t consider ourselves a charity organisation, but an assistance organisation,” said Mr Wells-Clifton.
The organisation assists those in need to help themselves, in the hope they will help somebody else in need when the chance arrives.
He recalled an incident where a student in Pretoria went missing. “The student went missing and the community members spent days looking for him,” said Mr Wells-Clifton.
He says when he saw there was not much he could do at that point, he made sandwiches for the people who were out looking for the student. The student was eventually found.
Mr Clifton-Wells gets information about people in need from people on the Facebook page. He then springs into action in finding people who will assist with that specific need.
The organisation also has a 90 day programme that assists families with grocery hampers every Saturday. The hamper includes most of the basic food items. They also include cleaning and washing products to try cover every aspect of a household’s needs.
“I will never give what I personally will not eat,” said Mr Wells-Clifton.
He believes to hurt a man’s dignity should be a crime. He is very protective of the people they assist and willl never give out people’s telephone numbers or addresses on Facebook.
He also cautioned about the need for transparency in assisting those in need. He recalled an occasion where they had to come together as a group and divide the responsibilities among themselves.
“Some people will put together the money, some will do the grocery shopping and some will drop off the groceries – all in the name of transparency. In that way, we all get the feeling of doing something good,” said Mr Wells-Clifton. The initiative is countrywide and, at times, travel costs are involved.
“Some wonderful people help with accommodation, petrol and sometimes plane tickets,” said Mr Wells-Clifton. The organisation is in the process of registering as a Non Profit Organisation (NPO), even though he does not believe in hand-outs.
“An NPO depends on donations from government and donors and we assist people to get on their feet and hopefully assist others,” concluded Mr Wells-Clifton.
The group assesses the needs of people and finds ways to walk with them in getting their “hands up”.
