Swakopmund
Peter Opali is a name better known in motorsport spinning circles and he has established a huge following as being one of the ‘Most Wanted’ charismatic Namtol Spinners.
But last week, the life of this dare-devil ‘petrol head’ took another turn, and overnight he started what is growing into one of the biggest and fastest spreading homeless charity projects this country has seen in a long time, which he says was a “calling from God”.
The ‘Heaven Sent’ initiative started in Windhoek last Tuesday, when Peter sent word out to all his friends, motorsport connections and contacts that he was collecting blankets, food, and donations for the street people and the poor living in the cracks of our society in town and residential areas.
He says his aim is to reach out to as many street kids, homeless and impoverished people as possible, who are victims of the icy winter temperatures, which have already taken the lives of some.
Within hours people from all walks of society brought in their contributions, the phones did not stop ringing, and the donations came pouring in, he says. Before long, this operation spread to Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, Gobabis and Tsumeb where he has motorsport contacts and the ‘Heaven Sent’ initiative is on a roll making a difference to the lives of the less fortunate.
“It is difficult to survive this cold when you are hungry and homeless, and I want to reach as many people as possible,” says Peter, who each night heads out with his team of 10 helpers and a packed kombi, to hand out food, clothing and blankets to the people in need.
“We go deep into the riverbeds, side streets and places where people are sleeping on pavements, under trees and in the bushes with little or no shelter from the freezing temperatures,” he says.
“The poverty and suffering in this country is worse than you can ever imagine, and I have seen it with my own eyes how the underprivileged people have to survive with nothing,” adds Peter. “We have people in our society who have everything they want, and it won’t hurt if everyone reached out to help.
“We still have a lot of blankets, which we want to distribute, and once we are finished with the town and the residential areas like Pionierspark, Academia and Klein Windhoek where people are living in the bushes, we are going into the informal settlements.
“Each night over the past week we have walked deep into the bushes to find the people and so far we have donated to well over 60 homeless people, and are expecting a lot more people to come forward and receive. Once we head out into the townships of Kilamanjaro and Okahandja Park we will need a lot more donations, because we want to find as many old people, young children and needy people who are lying on floors with no blankets and no food.
“These people don’t want to live like wild animals, it is just that they don’t have an option, but if everyone of us could offer a helping hand, it will take away some of their suffering,” says Peter.
“Our aim is for ‘Heaven Sent’ to reach all corners of the country, so that no one needs to be cold and hungry this winter.
“We still need donations to help reach all the homeless people, and will be running this initiative through all the winter months.
“We always meet at the Game parking lot at 19h00, so if anyone wants to bring their donations before we head out, we can be reached there, you will not miss the ‘Heaven Sent’ kombi.”
Peter can be contacted on his Facebook page Peter Opali, or otherwise can be reached at 0813025438.