Nestor Ebden reunited with his father after 6-months on the street. Pic: Supplied
Cape Town - Six months after leaving home, Nestor Ebden, 18, was reunited with his family on Thursday after he visited the Haven Night Shelter for their dignity project, which aims to provide festive spirit to the homeless.
The initiative, running from December 17 to January 3, offers people living on the street haircuts, shaves, hot showers, and toiletry packs.
Women can opt for a blow-dry or hot iron styling.
Participants receive clean clothing and new Adidas sneakers and their old clothes will be cleaned and returned within two days.
They also gain access to a phone to reconnect with family.
Ebden, who has been sleeping in a park for the past few months, heard about the dignity project and visited the shelter on Wednesday.
He called his dad and left a message, as he just wanted to listen to his voice and find out if he was okay.
His father had been looking for him and phoned back, saying he missed his son and wanted him to come home.
The Haven Night Shelter’s Head of Social Work, Patrick Mentor, personally took Ebden home to Strandfontein on on Thursday.
Ebden expressed his joy about reuniting with his family (father, grandmother and brother) and plans to return to school to complete his studies.
The dignity project has seen remarkable success in just two days.
On Tuesday, over 100 people received meals and drinks, and on Wednesday, this number had more than doubled to around 300.
Feed the Nation Foundation, working with Pick n Pay, and the Ackerman Foundation, donated R15000 to cover food costs for the project throughout the festive season.
After hearing about Ebden’s pending reunion, Feed the Nation immediately offered a grocery hamper to mark today's special family reunion.
“We wanted to make the moment extra magical by supporting it with a food hamper so that the family can focus on reconnecting this festive season,” says Deirdre Mullins, Pick n Pay CSI.
“The Haven Night Shelter believes no one should have to live on our streets. Having a success story like this ahead of Christmas is truly heartwarming,” said Mentor.
Shadrick Valayadum, CEO of Haven Night Shelter, adds: “When I spoke to Nestor this morning, he said, 'Thank you, uncle, for everything you've done’. I said, 'No, I've done nothing. You've done everything. You're the one that did the hard work by phoning home and just saying to them what you did and that you're sorry, and so on’.
“We were so impressed with the grocery hamper, and the family was blessed by it; it's phenomenal what partnerships can do. This reunion is truly a Christmas miracle, and it makes our jobs so much more worthwhile.”
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