Cape Town - “Darling, I have a walk-in closet in my room,” Danny Oosthuizen told three other guests of the Tsogo Sun Cape Sun hotel before they checked in.
“And what are you even going to put in there?” quizzed Natalie Smith. “You don’t have any clothes with you.”
“Darling, that room is so big, but it can barely fit my personality,” came Oosthuizen’s retort.
Danny Oosthuizen and Thabang Motshwene check in at the Cape Sun. Picture: Armand Hough/ANA Pictures
Tsogo Sun agreed to accommodate Oosthuizen and three guests for the night in celebration of World Homeless Day.
Danny Oosthuizen at the Cape Sun. Picture: Armand Hough/ANA Pictures
Danny Oosthuizen at the Cape Sun. Picture: Armand Hough/ANA Pictures
Danny Oosthuizen at the Cape Sun. Picture: Armand Hough/ANA Pictures
“You know, CSI and what we can do for our community is quite important,” Cape Sun general manager Jacques Moolman said.
“As it is we work quite closely with the CCID (Cape Town Central Improvement District) and in our rooms, you’ll see we have flyers urging our guests to leave things behind, clothing, or whatever, in their rooms specifically for the homeless. They’re distributed on behalf of Tsogo to the CCID.
Danny Oosthuizen and Thabang Motshwene at the Cape Sun. Picture: Armand Hough/ANA Pictures
Danny Oosthuizen and Thabang Motshwene at the Cape Sun. Picture: Armand Hough/ANA Pictures
“Not only for our homeless, but also to our community and those in need.”
Oosthuizen and his guests were shown to their rooms high above the city centre, via the iconic glass lifts.
The guests travel up the iconic glass elevators to their rooms on the 29th floor. Picture: Armand Hough/ANA Pictures
“Check down there,” Smith said, pointing to the fountain at the lower end of St George’s Mall. “We used to wash our clothes there.”
The group was in awe as they saw their rooms for the first time.
Thabang Motshwene, Natalie Smith, Charlene Matafin and Danny Oosthuizen at the Cape Sun. Picture: Armand Hough/ANA Pictures
“I feel like a queen,” said Charlene Matafin, who has lived on the street since her mother died when Matafin was eight.