Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The Voucher Project...the constructive alternative

The Voucher Project is a new initiative of our Homeless Care ministry, which provides food and work to the homeless people in the Paarl area. Residents of Paarl and visitors to our beautiful town keep the homeless on the streets by giving money into their begging hands. A little over two months ago, our Homeless Care team launched The Voucher Project, which was designed to empower the general public and give them a more constructive solution when approached by a person begging for money. Instead of giving money, an individual can give a voucher (booklets of 5 vouchers are available at many participating outlets throughout Paarl for R30 per booklet) which a homeless person can exchange for a meal or an article of clothing. The support with which this initiative has been embraced by the people of Paarl is overwhelming and in the two months since this initiative was launched, there have been over 3,750 vouchers sold. The voucher is also creating opportunities for a homeless person to be introduced to our other Homeless Care initiatives, exposing them to relationship programs that aim to restore and empower them. Above all, this positive response from the people of Paarl demonstrates the willingness of so many to make a difference and to help their fellow man. Our Homeless Care team realizes that there is no quick fix to the problem of homelessness. Now that this project has taken hold, the challenge is to maintain momentum and expand our efforts to deal with the root of the homeless problem in Paarl. A large part of the lasting success will be to give back dignity to participants of the Homeless Care program through employment. The age-old saying of "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" is particularly relevant when trying to effect sustainable change on our streets. Very soon through The Voucher Project, the Homeless Care team plans to launch two job creation projects in Paarl to achieve this goal. We look forward to sharing news in the near future about The Voucher Project Garden Services and The Voucher Project Car Wash.

1 comment:

  1. The website is looking bit flashy and it catches the visitors eyes. Design is pretty simple and a good user friendly interface.
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