This is where she lived - the bucket next to the picture at the bottom gives you the sense of the size of her 'home'. The question is not to be - how or why? The question must be - what do you do today for her or others not so lucky as she was/is ?
Elizabeth Carolus did not know about women's day - what is that? This was her response when a journalist asked about women's day in 2007 in Cape Town. Soon after this question and her response there was an article in a local newspaper with a photo of Elizabeth. The story gripped the heart of Anita, my spouse. She put the article in her study - close to some of her documents. From time to time Elizabeth's picture stared at her. Eventually she phoned the journalist who pointed out that Elizabeth's home was very close to where we live - she lived about four kilometers from us next to a golf course.
Anita gathered the courage to go and search for her - living under a make shift shelter of cardboard and blankets. She has been living there for a few years. She lost her homeless boyfriend who was murdered a few months before the article was published - murdered by the 'baddies' amongst the street people.
What happened since then is part of a miracle. Anita managed to get a place for Elizabeth at Elim, a night shelter at Elsies River, Cape Town. Here was a safe place to stay and sleep at a fraction of the cost that it should be - where in the world could you get board and lodging and food for under $2 per day? This is fantastic. So this is where her home is now - with friendly people and good management (with some strict rules of course as well) and in safety - not out in the open any more.
The world of the street people is a different world, but they too need love, acceptance and the possibility of a different future.
