I Dare 2 Care

On Friday 15 May 2015, We are Durban participated in the I Dare 2 Care Event, organized by I Care, in which approximately 1000 people spent a night sleeping on the streets of Durban to raise awareness for the plight of the homeless.

I Care is an NGO that has been transforming the lives of street children for 13 years with a number of programmes including outreach, rehabilitation, housing/shelter and skills development.  The aim of this event was to raise awareness for the homeless of Durban, to provide people with an opportunity to experience a little of what life is like as a homeless person in our city, and to raise money for I Care in maintaining their shelter facilities and ongoing implementation of their various programmes.
1000 people from all over Durban rallied together to participate in sleeping on the street for one night, and raised sponsorships from generous donors to contribute to I Care’s work in our city.  The event was hosted by eThekwini Municipality at the City Hall, with assistance by many role players including His People Church, Sanitech, Rescue Care, Blue Security and the Metro Police.  Those involved worked phenomenally hard to make sure that the event was safe and ran smoothly. Representatives from various organisations were present with facilities available to educate the local homeless people about the various health and wellbeing services available to them and how they can access these. I Care also collected donations of blankets in the morning to distribute amongst the needy.

It was an incredibly successful and enlightening event, and We are Durban are proud to have been a part of it! We all had an opportunity to share a meal and conversation with homeless people in the area, and I’m sure that all involved have come away with a very different perspective on social needs in our city, as well as with a massive appreciation for all that we have. The daring courage of those participating also went a long way in raising awareness far and wide, and many generous donations have been received from international sponsors.

We are Durban would like to say huge WELL DONE to all of our volunteers that joined in, to all those who gave of their time, skills and resources to make the event happen, and to I Care for organising such a terrific event!