Slap of Reality

It was such a blessing to participate in 2018’s annual International Nelson Mandela Day. I was part of an awesome initiative which saw us taking to the streets on the eve of 18 July in search of street children and homeless people to feed, armed with some nice hot soup and bread.

I have always known that homelessness and street life is a reality for thousands, if not millions of people on this planet but facing the reality is something very different.

I was, and still am, stunned at the circumstances our brothers and sisters, including children, are faced with on a daily basis. For the life of me, I do not know how they survive.

My most heart-breaking moment that night was when we came across a woman and at least five children – all girls – sitting around a fire in the woods trying to keep warm in the middle of winter. Another woman, a mother to three of the girls, was out looking for something to eat. I can only imagine the worst that could happen, and I don’t even want to think about it.

There were also two young men we ran into, also residents of the bush, who used old car parts and other debris to build a shelter. The inside of what they call their home was a health risk. Absolutely disgusting, to be honest. But these young men were so full of life and seemed so grateful – something many of us who have so much more don’t even know how to embrace.

“We do get guests from time to time,” said one of them with a big smile on his face when I asked if it was only the two of them staying here. Their smiles and warm welcome broke me inside, because I realised at that moment that I still have to learn how to be grateful.

These two young gentlemen are probably very smart and talented and able but sadly and very unfortunately they find themselves living a life that makes opportunities you and I get on a daily basis far-fetched.

We also came across a young man who wasn’t very impressed with what we were doing and was slightly aggressive. I bet that if City Police was not with us on this mission, his aggression would have posed a risk for us. He was mad because he has seen this before, but life remains the same for him.

“You people like to do this. You come and give us something to eat, and then leave us to continue with this life. What difference does this make?”

Some of us probably find it difficult to understand his reaction and judge him for it but I understand his frustration. Yes, the thing we would expect anyone to do when given something to eat is to be thankful. But I am sure if we really think about what he said, we’d understand where he comes from.

Unfortunately we couldn’t give him a house or an education or a proper life at that point but I truly hope that the little we could give him gave him hope after all, and was only the beginning of a better life going forward.

These people live under bridges, in riverbeds, in the bushes. Some of them sleep in parking lots or in old abandoned buildings. And many of them are children and women. This reminds me of the old lady we came across at an abandoned building that evening – in the city centre. She was injured and when we asked her about it, she said she went to the hospital and was scheduled for a follow-up. She looked to be about 60 years old and could hardly move. She was dependent on the four or five young boys she shared the abandoned little building with to give her food.

We also stopped by security guards in and around the city because we know their reality. Life is not easy for them either. They risk their lives day and night to protect millions and billions of dollars worth of assets, while most of them hardly get paid enough to put bread on the table.

Life is tough out there, for more people than we realise. Circumstances are even tougher than we think for countless people. And here we are, with so much more than they desire, and we have the audacity to be ungrateful and complain our days away.

Be a little more thankful for what you have. Happiness is not having what you want, but rather appreciating what you have.

Till next time, gents, cheers!

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