[caption id="attachment_38748" align="alignright" width="405"] HELPING HAND: Cindy Aspen and her son, Jason, 5, and Antoinette McCarthy receive food, beanies, scarves and gloves from Love Story's Abo Ngalonkuou, right, and Klaas Rathabaneng at Vuyisile Mini Square. Picture: BRIAN WITBOOI[/caption]
THOUGH love means different things to different people, some find it in the sharing of a bread roll.
Homeless people scattered across the city, sleeping in rags under bridges, at supermarkets and on street corners, found their love with Love Story, a non-profit organisation feeding them soup and bread from Mondays to Fridays.
Bongani Shabalala, 36, who washes cars in the city centre and sleeps at the Port Elizabeth station, received a warm meal in front of the City Hall last night, along with 199 other destitute people.
Love Story's feeding scheme started in February last year, feeding 20 men they found sleeping in abandoned buildings. Today they feed 200 people, serving about 35000 meals a month.
Shabalala said: "I ended up on the streets in 2011 because jobs are so scarce. Sometimes I wash cars, but that doesn't make enough money to buy enough food. The guys from Love Story saved my life. Of all the things I'm unsure of, at least I'm sure of a meal five days a week."
Love Story, the brainchild of EP Kings rugby star Luke Watson, 31, and his wife Elaine, 31, aims to eradicate hunger among the homeless – physically and spiritually.
For Bongani Tsetsi, 28, who sleeps around the corner from City Hall, the organisation's bread and soup is the highlight of his day.
"I've been on the streets since 2001. I park cars to make a quick buck to stay alive, but if people don't have money to tip you, what can you do? Getting a meal from my Love Story family is like having a little hope in a lonely word."
Tsetsi, who dreams of becoming a professional dancer, entertains the crowd at City Hall while they enjoy their meal.
"It is God who makes my feet move," he said.
Elaine, passionate about people, said: "Luke has always had a heart for the homeless and when we moved back here from the United Kingdom, we just couldn't turn a blind eye to the need there is in the city.
"I think growing up and living in South Africa we get so used to seeing poverty and hardships that we become desensitised.
"Our hope is that people will be inspired and do something, anything, to help those less fortunate than us.
"Luckily for us, the restaurant, Something Good, came on board with a campaign that allows their customers to donate R5 towards the organisation. Each R5 will be used to help make a difference in the city."
Last night, each of the homeless received a beanie and a scarf from the team at Something Good with their meal.
"We can only thank God for these blessings," Shabalala said. - Alvené du Plessis