Tag: homeless

On one of the coldest nights of winter, chief executives from more than 240 companies slept on the pavement. Their efforts were both lauded and criticised, but they raised funds for Girls and Boys Town South Africa and built a lot of empathy for the homeless.

Philani Dladla is a well-known feature of Joburg's streets. The Pavement Bookworm reads books and gives reviews to passers-by. If they like the review, they buy the book. This way, he pays rent and buys food. But his bigger goal is promoting literacy among children.

Robert Mtshali's Young Minds Care and Phumlani Makhaye's Master P Social Investments are gearing up to spread some cheer this Easter, delivering food and clothing to Joburg's homeless as temperatures drop.

In 1923 wealthy socialite Frida Hartley left London for Johannesburg to open a shelter for destitute women, a solid one-storey brick building in Bellevue. Today that building is still a refuge for the penniless and abandoned, while its sister Bethany Home helps victims of abuse.

Meals on Wheels is a non-profit organisation that has fed the hungry and restored the dignity of poor communities around South Africa for 70 years, relying solely on donations from the public for their work.

More than 70 homeless teenagers from across the world have been given a chance to flex their football skills in Durban, South Africa, in the inaugural Deloitte Street Child World Cup.
• Boost for school football