Danny Oosthuizen reflects on the past year, and the challenges and victories of Cape Town's homeless.
Spoilt rotten! The homeless were treated to a Christmas lunch on Sunday. We had two functions in one day. The Ladles of Love prepared an awesome lunch in Church Street.
Tables were spilling onto the pavement and we felt like the rich and famous. The meal was tasty. We also received a gift bag filled with toiletries.
At 3pm, Souper Troopers got into action, serving us a cooked meal at the Service Dining Rooms. As the Dining Rooms will be closed during this time of the year, the only date they could get to use the place was December 11, hence the two lunches in one day.
So while the pots were cooking and the tables were laid, we had military-like discipline in deciding what to wear for the special occasion. The women were up early on Sunday morning to get their hair and make-up done.
I swear, our girls can fix up a fashion show in that they can pull off wearing a black bag in such a way that US Vogue editor Anna Wintour would kill for!
In a world where there is no GHD hair iron and no hair-dryer, it takes a miracle to prevent the hair from mincing!
Girls normally sporting a natural look had this face put on, making them nearly unrecognisable. BB cream should only be used by experts.
And I am not so sure, but when you’re wearing smouldering eyes at lunchtime, it’s bound to smudge, making you look like Batman from hell! As the day went on and the sun beat down mercilessly on us, the transformation that took place was something like that at a Donatella Versace show -without the supervision. Stripping down in public is a violation of some act, but we did what we had to do. No air-conditioning in this house!
We reflect on a year gone by. We acknowledge the public and businesses that went the extra mile to support us. The food kitchens that fed us.
The shelters that did their best to accommodate us. We have bitter-sweet moments where we remember those calling us all kinds of names.
This a good year for most of us. We lost friends along the way. We gained new ones. Some managed to find a job and kept it.
We fell in and out of love. We had spectacular fights with the powers-that-be and we bonded with others.
The CCID (Central City Improvement District) must be mentioned. It has gone out of its way to listen to us and tried to support us where it could.
And it makes such a difference when one can talk openly about the challenges we face. We don’t get treated like second-class citizens by the the CCID and we managed to gain a good understanding.
Some of us, at times, can be a handful - but all in all, we co-operate nicely.
On a sad note, Karin Cain, a social worker at The Carpenter's Shop, has left us. There was a woman with more than 20 years of actively working with the homeless. She will be missed.
* Danny's Diary is published every Tuesday.