2014 Tiwa Omope

            “People who are homeless are not social inadequates. They are people without homes.”
-- Sheila McKechnie
         My name is Tiwa, a 23year old Nigerian student currently studying at the Canadian University of Dubai and Majoring in E-business. My main reason participating in this charity event is to help raise awareness about the homeless and their plight.
We need a system, to help our fellow man, woman, and child, to help them get back on their feet again and also does offer people safety, shelter, nourishment, and vitamins.
When I see what the weather is like in the morning, I think of the homeless people out there-and hope they are dry and warm. When I see a man on the street corner, I’ll give him anything I can to help: a candy bar, a soda, money, or a cigarette...but, sadly, I cannot give him a home. I understand his haggard look, he is tired, from not having a place to rest comfortably, from not having a suitable place to sit down and rest. He is hungry, weak and pale.
Participating for the third time, I had previously spent 10 days being homeless. This is not an achievement, but because I know it can never be compared to their daily battles. Why I still see the need to make every effort sharing their struggles. I am more than happy to join the campaign yet again and also add 5 more days to raise the awareness.
            Most importantly, I am participating in this event to MAKE A DIFFERENCE




DAY 1

        Dull day, sunny and yes it is the first day, I am hungry and tired. In-fact, i feel homeless already. But never the less, we are all determined to push it through the end because we know we cannot really feel like a homeless person as long as we have a home to return to after the campaign. All of us know that this lasts just 5days and that we will return home, exhausted, to a hot shower, hot food, and a warm, clean bed. By having a home to return to after the Challenge, you'll
be reminded of the privilege of class in the society. We’re talking about the privilege of being able to step in and out of what we perceive to be the homeless experience. If it gets too painful, demanding or inconvenient, we can just simply leave. So we do not think that we are actually getting the complete experience of a homeless person in only a few days.




 DAY 2  
       After a rough but fun night with the guys, waking up to see all our sleeping bags wet because of the morning dew, but to my self i said. "What a bad day ahead"
However, day1 did not do so bad. The target is to reach 15000dirhams or more and at the end of day1, the team made 21% of the target which was quite encouraging. The supporting "all ladies" team, joined in to help with the donations. As expected, they made more money than the boys. KUDOS to them. Later on, we had a reporter from 7day who is publishing a write up before the end of the week. 
So far, I haven't had much to eat. Hungry, tired and hoping to end today with smiles as many had disappointed with donations. With heads held high, we are determined to PUSH FURTHER