Help nowhere to stay nothing to eat It’s Monday morning I’ve just got of a Mission Aviation Fellowship charter at Gapuwiyak NE Arnhemland. No one meets me so I walk with suitcase, backpack & swag into town & to the old store managers house which is unused & I have been told I can sleep at – oh dear doesn’t look good. Leave my bags in carport & go to shop to get some food for lunch & dinner – oh dear public holiday everything is shut – no food for me. Drop by minister’s house to get key – oh dear minister in homeland centre taking funeral & hasn’t left key, so I can’t get in. So here I am no food, no shelter & now I’ve just discovered the water & power have been turned off & the house is condemned because of asbestos – oh dear! This week is Homelessness Week to raise our consciousness of the large number of homeless people in our nation. And it’s not just what you & I might stereotypically imagine, many are single parents, young families with one income, pensioners who don’t own a dwelling. As a nation we must address this growing, concerning human need. So I’m sitting on my swag on the concrete carport floor – at least I have a roof & a swag. I’m feeling sorry for myself but you know it raises my recognition of homelessness. I won’t go in to the lack of toilet. It’s going to be cold tonight better sleep in my clothes & an extra shirt. My discomfort of sleeping out & empty belly is for one day & night, it’s every day for the homeless sometimes without any sleeping gear. In the morning I have a clean shirt to put on – some don’t. No water but then I remember I have a little bottle of hair conditioner & I put some on my head which lets me comb my hair & I feel a little fresher. I make my way to the store at 8 I know it doesn’t open till 9 but it’s sunny at the back & there’s table & chairs to sit on. A kind Yolngu friend get’s me a coffee. At 9 it opens & I have money so two bacon & egg sandwiches hit’s the spot & another coffee from my friend. How many “friends” are there for the homeless? Can we be a friend to the homeless? Do we even see them? Shalom, Stuart
Posted on: Fri, 09 Aug 2013 21:45:17 +0000
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