The local charity organisation in Paarl, Heart NPO partnered last August with Tony Litchfield’s weekly personal programme Ministry to the Homeless, which he has been quietly doing for more than 10 years in Paarl.
Litchfield approached Heart NPO for assistance as he realised individuals attending his weekly ministry needed more targeted help than he was able to provide in his personal capacity.
During the past eight months these weekly human upliftment meetings, hosted at the Manyano Centre, have grown exponentially. Currently up to 80 homeless individuals can access a variety of completely free services and activities on a regular basis.
A normal Wednesday programme would include a church service, after which a coffee and tea station was opened. As part of creating earning opportunities for three skilled ladies from their feeding scheme communities, Heart offer male guests free hair cuts and facial shaves and ladies can have free hair cuts, hair styling, make-up and nails done and at the same time, receive sanitary products with no charge.
Access to personal care is a huge confidence and dignity boost and very helpful to guests who are looking for employment and going for interviews.
Two months ago Litchfield, who has been very involved with sports development in underprivileged areas in Paarl and Wellington for many years, suggested a football team be put together for a friendly match one Sunday afternoon.
The rag-tag team that was put together for the first match played their hearts out that day, some barefoot, some with sandals or broken sneakers, some with jeans or overall bottoms. Everyone came in whatever they had. One player’s only pair of pants he owned tore beyond repair that day.
There had been zero practice beforehand and players hardly knew one another’s names. They lost in an absolutely spectacular fashion against Cambio Football Club with a final score of 6-0, but when the guys came off the field sweating and dog-tired, everyone was in a state of pure, unadulterated happiness. Something had clicked, something had shifted within each player and it was very noticeable. And that is how Phoenix Rising came to be.
Over the past two months, Heart NPO donors has made it possible to purchase 18 pairs of football boots and cover nutritional support, transport, meals and referee fees. Phoenix Rising does not yet have a team sponsor, but in good time the team will prove itself.
The team has weekly training sessions with coach Juju, who as a passionate and dedicated athlete has no mercy. Both fitness levels and skills within the team has improved tremendously.
The goal with establishing Phoenix Rising is not only to play football, but to build the man. Huge focus is placed on discipline, respect, teamwork, building confidence and trust, all of which is beneficial to have in any working environment. Players are also actively involved in volunteering at Heart NPO’s two feeding schemes, which offers players the opportunity to feel good about giving back and spending a bit of their time in a positive and truly helpful way. These community outreaches also remind players that they are not alone in the struggle to survive says the organisation.
Heart NPO is also actively assisting players with looking for job opportunities and three team members have so far found permanent employment over the past eight weeks.
The ultimate goal for the organisation is to support homeless individuals in finding permanent solutions for themselves to end their homelessness, by introducing them to various human upliftment programmes.
On Sunday 30 April, after weeks of hard work and training and matches being cancelled due to the rain, a day of worship and football was set up with the Igniting Hope Church from Hanover Park, Cape Town. The visitors joined the local team’s Wednesday group for a combined church service, after which it was time for the two church football teams to face off on the field.
Phoenix Rising’s team captain scored their first goal within the first minute of the match. Both Teams fought with absolute determination, but Phoenix Rising was hungry for their first match win. When the final whistle was blown after 90 minutes the local team had well and truly earned their first on-the-field victory with a score of 2-1.
The entire Phoenix Rising team is proving that it is possible to rise from the ashes despite all the challenges one faces.
To find out how you can become involved in supporting this programme, contact Mandie Erasmus from Heart NPO on 062 537 5206. Or, follow all the work it does in the local Drakenstein communities via their Facebook page.
