A glimmer of hope for people living on the streets
The number of people living on the streets of Pietermaritzburg is on the increase, particularly after the Covid-19 pandemic. For King’s Community Projects (KCP), it is an opportunity to show compassion and care for this marginalised group.
In 2022, the Streets Outreach Programme was born. It has opened KCP’s eyes to the depth of the drug problem amongst young people in Pietermaritzburg, most of whom come from broken families. E3 funds the weekly outreach on a Saturday, where the team listens to people’s stories, prays and reminds them about the love of Christ and their value in God’s eyes, gives them food packs and signposts them to other organisations for further support.
Since her mother died, Anna has faced many difficulties and is battling a drug addiction. She now lives on the streets and survives by selling recycled stuff. Pictured here, she is talking with one of E3’s partner project leaders, Pastor Miyanda, and asking for prayer to restore her life. She was previously a resident of Abrina Esther House domestic abuse shelter, another E3 partner project. She says KCP is her glimmer of hope that good things still happen to people like her. She hopes that one day she will beat her addiction.
Reuniting families
Peter spoke to Phumzile Ndlovu, the KCP Programmes Coordinator, and said, “Please help me, I need to apologise to my sister. Please take a picture of me and send a message to her. I want to go home.” He had memorised his sister’s number and Phumzile sent her a message. His sister was full of emotion. Phumzile explained where he was and how they met. The KCP team hasn’t seen him on the streets since and has not been able to contact his sister. We are hopeful that she did come for him after his desperate plea and that they were able to start over.
