…homeless shower praise on organisers for Christmas Day treat

CHRISTMAS Day 2017 was a sweet moment for many persons considered to be homeless as Dominion Household Ministries teamed up with Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources Simona Broomes and corporate Guyana to feed, clothe and bathe several of them on Merriman Mall.

As they arrived around 07:00hrs that morning, while the majority of the country were celebrating the holiday with their loved ones, the homeless were treated to a shower, fresh clothing, hair grooming and hot meals.
Many of them expressed much surprise at the gesture as they have no families or friends on whom to depend. A 20-year-old orphan told the Guyana Chronicle after her make-over that she does not have parents and her family wants nothing to do with her. According to the ecstatic young woman, she has been surviving by the grace of God as she has no fixed place of abode.

“I can feel myself again. I don’t have any parents, family…nobody to turn to — just a friend to turn to….I just making out to see how I could make life out, without a family. My family and me don’t agree, they don’t want me around,” the thankful woman said after she had received a new hairdo. She continued: “I feel good and alright– this is something nice, I have to praise God for it…hope many more of this is done,” the young woman said.

Another beneficiary told the media that she too has nowhere to go and no one on whom to depend. Despite being treated on Christmas morning, she remained saddened by her state of affairs.

“I aint got nowhere to go…been on the street for a month or so. I use to live by the daughter– she put me out…and I feel sad because they don’t want me down deh,” said the distraught woman who was fixated on being with her family. Another woman disclosed that she does not have children, but has a large family and has to turn to strangers to feed and clothe her. “ I have no chirren…today is stranger is look me…that man name Christ Jesus—Jesus is by my side— today is stranger looking at me, not my own,” she said, as tears streamed down her face.

As for the male folk, they too were overwhelmed with emotions and thanked the Dominion Household Ministries and all stakeholders for treating them. “I am thankful for this…I haven’t had a bath in a long time…sometimes I does wait for the rain…I know how I smell, but I have nowhere to go,” said one man,who stressed that random acts of kindness can go a long way.

Meanwhile, Pastor Timothy King explained what prompted him and his family to be part of such an exercise on Christmas morning. He told reporters that it was his wife, Debra King, who decided to have a lunch for the less fortunate who find themselves homeless. “So my wife was talking about doing lunch, and Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, was in a prayer meeting with us and she got inspired and talked about what she wanted to do and I brought what I wanted to do and it came together,” he said, noting that the exercise represented “an overwhelming expression of God’s love—people got a bath, they shaved, a haircut…it is amazing to see people transformed.”

His wife said the idea was birthed after travelling home recently and seeing a number of homeless persons lining the pavements along Regent Street. “The thought crossed my mind ‘I am going home to a hot pot of cook-up and they have nothing to eat’ and so I felt in my spirit I needed to do something for them,” said Mrs. King. But she thought about the amount of money it would cost her to achieve her goal, but decided against waiting for the right amount of money. “Immediately, I put on paper what I wanted to do…cook, come out on Christmas Day and share God’s love, because Jesus came for us and it is our

responsibility to share his love with others. I believe Christmas Day is the right time, because there is where everyone is sharing with their families and the homeless have no one,” said an emotional Debra King. She said oftentimes, homeless people are judged, but noted that is not right. “I am so grateful to God for giving me the strength…we are making a difference in this city- I believe that is what the church is supposed to be doing, impacting this nation for Christ,” she said, as she thanked those who immediately supported the initiative.

“We are going to be doing this again, not just on Christmas Day, but it will become part of our lifestyle to give back,” said Mrs. King.

Similarly, Broomes said she was pleased to see the look on the faces of the beneficiaries. She told reporters that every person is in need of love and support. It was during discussion with Pastor King and his wife, that the pooling of resources was done. “Today, I want to give all praise to God; I want to thank the persons we have reached out to…For me, what’s heart rendering [sic] is to see the before and the after – to see them walk off

the street and get a shower, haircut, fresh clothing- it is unbelievable — these are people, human beings created by God,” she said, noting that it was a good Christmas gift to the less fortunate. “…if as a minister of government, I cannot feel the plight of people then I not worthy,” said the minister. A prayer service was also held to provide some degree of comfort to persons there; many of whom committed to serving God.

Several businesses and persons assisted in making Monday’s venture possible. They include: Star Party Rental, owned by Lennox Cush, Chung’s Construction, Nola Greaves, Amanda Peters, Milady’s Hair Salon, Food For The Poor, Cevons Waste Management Services, members of the Dominion Household Ministries and Mayor of Georgetown, Patricia Chase-Green.