Homeless find shelter in Paradise

Five destitute men have set up camp in Paradise.

Small makeshift shelters of cardboard boxes, sticks and other materials are their only protection from the elements.

The men claimed they had been living on the vacant plot of land for just over a month, leading lives as social outcasts.

“I have a home in Siyahlala-la, but my parents are dead and it is just me and my brother. I came here because my brother uses drugs, so I live here instead,” Mandla Ncube said.

Mandla told the Newcastle Sun he was 19 years old and still went to school, but chose not to divulge which school he attended.

“I have been living on the streets for a year and a half. I originally come from Madadeni, but I have no home to go to,” said one of the men, known as Goofy among his friends.

“I have lived on the streets for five years now,” added Sifiso Zulu. Sifiso said he was originally from oSizweni before he fell into hard times and lost his family.

These three men and the two men who lived them, are but a small group who have no place to call their own; no homes, no families or anyone they could rely on.

Over the past few months, the Newcastle community has shown great compassion to the destitute by donating clothing, blankets and food.

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