EM Love Foundation help the less fortunate
Gabby Tjiroze
Street children were treated like kings and queens when the EM Love Foundation hosted its sixth street store at Palm Tree Park this past Saturday.
The store is a free shopping experience for those living on the streets.
The aim of the foundation is to restore dignity and was founded by Mavis Elias, who recently received the Queen's Young Leader Award in England.
“We set up a pop-up shop where they choose items for free and the objective is to give dignity back in a giving process. At the street store we give food, clothes, manicures and pedicures. The setup is in a shop fashion and the receivers get to choose what they like. We managed to reach over 100 people this past Saturday, which is a good sign,” said Elias.
She started the foundation in 2012 and it has been changing lives.
“The journey for the foundation has been immensely humbling. We have made strides in our work and have been able to see a significant change in the dynamics surrounding poverty. We have been able to learn and take lessons learnt from our beneficiaries to create more impactful initiatives. We have had various initiatives ranging from the street store to lending a hand to food drives,” said the philanthropist.
The foundation has a large volunteer database that encourages charity work among young people.
“We have been able to take the goodwill we have in Namibia amongst our people and take that to be able to make a change in our society. It teaches that you don't have to have much to donate. You only need time and will. We have been able to create an environment of helping.
“The EM Love Foundation was born out of a desire to help my country towards the goal of poverty eradication. Growing up, I had this intense desire to change the world, but most importantly I had the desire to help people who are stuck in the poverty cycle.
“I grew up in a home where I first-hand saw what having my father break out of the poverty cycle did for me. There is great power in breaking the poverty cycle,” Elias added.
Street children were treated like kings and queens when the EM Love Foundation hosted its sixth street store at Palm Tree Park this past Saturday.
The store is a free shopping experience for those living on the streets.
The aim of the foundation is to restore dignity and was founded by Mavis Elias, who recently received the Queen's Young Leader Award in England.
“We set up a pop-up shop where they choose items for free and the objective is to give dignity back in a giving process. At the street store we give food, clothes, manicures and pedicures. The setup is in a shop fashion and the receivers get to choose what they like. We managed to reach over 100 people this past Saturday, which is a good sign,” said Elias.
She started the foundation in 2012 and it has been changing lives.
“The journey for the foundation has been immensely humbling. We have made strides in our work and have been able to see a significant change in the dynamics surrounding poverty. We have been able to learn and take lessons learnt from our beneficiaries to create more impactful initiatives. We have had various initiatives ranging from the street store to lending a hand to food drives,” said the philanthropist.
The foundation has a large volunteer database that encourages charity work among young people.
“We have been able to take the goodwill we have in Namibia amongst our people and take that to be able to make a change in our society. It teaches that you don't have to have much to donate. You only need time and will. We have been able to create an environment of helping.
“The EM Love Foundation was born out of a desire to help my country towards the goal of poverty eradication. Growing up, I had this intense desire to change the world, but most importantly I had the desire to help people who are stuck in the poverty cycle.
“I grew up in a home where I first-hand saw what having my father break out of the poverty cycle did for me. There is great power in breaking the poverty cycle,” Elias added.
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