- Residents in Ambleside Crescent, Plattekloof Glen, helped 81-year-old Izak Prins after he was evicted and left homeless.
- Through community efforts, Prins received a wendy house and support at the Lilly Rose Community Farm.
- The community provided financial assistance, materials, and emotional support, showcasing the power of unity and compassion.
Residents in Ambleside Crescent, Plattekloof Glen, were recently applauded for helping a destitute senior citizen (81) who had found himself out on the streets after being evicted from his place of residence. The senior recently spent several nights in his car, while residents came together to help him in whichever way they could.
Doreen Urry, one of those residents, told TygerBurger last week that the whole story was quite amazing.
According to her the senior citizen, Izak Prins, was evicted about two weeks ago, and had been sleeping in his car on a verge opposite her house. The family went out and asked him if they could assist, whether he needed anything, she explains. She also asked him what his plans were. “But he told me, he does not have a plan, that he is waiting on God’s plan.”
Help
Urry, with the help of several of the residents in Ambleside Crescent, was able to help him get back onto his feet. It was through their street group on social media that she was able to start the ball rolling.
During this period, someone also informed them about a community farm just outside Atlantis called Lilly Rose where people like Prins are helped. Urry says she did some research and saw that they have land available where a person can set up a wendy house. “I contacted them, and explained the story.”
Work then started on getting Prins a wendy house. The wendy house was bought by Urry who had R4 500 and another resident who contributed R9 700.
After the material for the wendy house had been bought, she asked residents to assist with the installation of a fence for Prins’ dog and help with moving his belongings to his new place on the West Coast.
Sharon Haveman, another resident, assisted Urry to help Prins relocate to the Lilly Rose Community Farm.
Urry says the farm charges R1 500 a month which can be paid by seniors who receive social grants. The farm is able to assist Prins to apply for Sassa, but until this has been arranged, some of the residents have offered to pay for his rent for the first three months, says Urry.
Furthermore, Lilly Rose also provides residents with three meals a day and take them to local clinics when the need arises.
Apart from the wendy house and rent, residents also offered to help with the move, the relocating of his car, and donated food, sheets and bedding, a mattress and clothing. Some helped with the installation of the fence, and some had offered to buy him dog food for his pet.
Other residents donated cabinets, cupboards and even a bed for his dogs.
Urry told the newspaper that he was in tears on the day of the move. “I could not believe how people got together.”
During the six nights of his stay in his car, prior to moving, residents also offered him warm cooked meals, she says.
Urry says since he has been at Lilly Rose, Prins seems happy. “He was very thankful.”
She adds: “He said the wendy house is a castle compared to the room and car, and that it is nice for him. He said it is nice to be among people his age. I think this is good for him.”
Haveman says they could help Prins get into a shelter, but that they could also not separate him from his dog. She says since these events, Urry and herself had become like family. “At Lilly Rose, he says he is getting what he wants, he is making friends, and he is loving it,” Haveman says.
Grateful
TygerBurger also reached out to Prins, who says that he is thankful to the residents of Ambleside Crescent.
He told the newspaper that he had been staying in a garage that was divided, but that he was evicted recently. He explained how strangers would visit him during the six nights while he was in his car, offering him help.
“The empathy, the sympathy of the group, showed me that there are still people who display the love of the Lord.”
He explained how the group, with the help of the organisers Urry and Haveman, managed to arrange a wendy house for him in a short space of time.
“When I arrived at Lilly Rose, they were busy assembling the wendy house. When the assembly of the wendy house was done, they helped me to move in.
“One cannot just be grateful, that is not enough. This is only through the love of God.
“The sympathy, empathy, love and friendship that they had bestowed upon me, I cannot put it in words,” he says.
Prins says his new neighbour, who moved in a day after him, also has a dog. The two have since became good friends, he says.
