Soup project launched for Long Street street children
'Our main objective is to get rehabilitation centres within our communities'
IN commemoration of Youth Month, three friends and ANC ward 15 and 17 members set out in the cold on June 26 and 27 to hand out soup and bread to the street children on the corner of Long Street and Monument Road.
“They were jubilant to be served warm soup and bread, receiving blankets and shoes, and above all, love,” said Liliwe Mlilwana, ANC ward 17 coordinator.
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“Our main objective is to find free rehabilitation centres within our communities as we are aware that rehabilitation centres are expensive and parents and families cannot afford them. We have already built a relationship with a stakeholder in Ekurhuleni, Women in Black Energy Saving Companies (WOBESCO).
“The chairperson, Bridgette Nana Mukase, has availed herself to assist with serving these homeless communities, especially the youth, in integrating these young people with their parents. We had 78 young men and women, mostly between the ages of 15 and 40, who we managed to interact with and shared heartbreaking experiences.”
Sazi Fakude and his two friends, Obi Ogazi and Mr Prince, provide food and motivational assistance to these kids on a Monday, Friday and Sunday.
“We assist them daily and ensue they don’t go to bed with empty stomachs. We are not only giving them food with what we have but also motivate them.”
“We are begging stakeholders to help us help these boys. We want to take away the option of stealing and begging and give them a real future,” said Fakude.
