Last Winter November 2022, I volunteered for the annual Leicester City Council’s Rough Sleep street count and had the opportunity to comb the streets of Leicester during the wee hours of the morning with a team of volunteers and the Leicester City Council Staff to locate rough sleepers and offer them the temporary shelter the Leicester City council had prepared in advance.
After the count, I returned home with a deep sense of despair and a burden in my heart from seeing many people rough sleeping in the cold. I am now more aware of the enormous need for more urgent actions required to address the #sdg11 goal: Sustainable Cities and Communities in which individuals and communities all over the world can come together to help support the works that NGOs and Local Governments do to provide opportunities for all to access basic services such as housing and more.
That is why I have decided to spend one night rough sleeping out on the campus of De Montfort University, together with other students and staff of the university, in support of the charity “The Bridge Homelessness to Hope” which is running the 2023 Big Sleep fundraising campaign.
I survived the night sleeping in the cold in support of the #bigsleep23 campaign, aimed at raising awareness of homelessness and much-needed funds for a Leicester charity: The Bridge Homelessness to Hope. It wasn’t easy, because at some point it became too cold for me to bear and I began to wonder how I will survive the night. But then we decided to shake things up to make the big sleep fun and somehow the cold didn’t feel too intense or threatening.
The beauty of this experience is that it helped me make new friends! We spent the night together outside, dancing, laughing, playing games, discussing the numerous issues bothering around homelessness, brainstorming possible solutions, and finally sleeping on the cold floor of De Montfort University!
Most importantly, this experience has made me taste what it feels like to be homeless and to think that this is the daily reality for many people sends shivers down my spine. I am now more aware than ever before of what homelessness feels like and earnestly implore everyone to do the little they can to support the works that local government and charities in every community all over the world are doing to end homelessness!
Therefore, I’m asking for donations to The Bridge #Homelessness to Hope. I’ve chosen this charity because they support people facing real hardship and homelessness by not only providing them with shelter but also the hope and courage, they need to rebuild their lives from the ground up, and I hope that you’ll consider contributing as a way of supporting me. Every little bit will help me reach my goal of £100 by donating via the link provided.
I want to sincerely thank all who sponsored my fundraiser in support of the great work done by the Leicester charity: The Bridge Homelessness to Hope and also use this opportunity to ask for more donations for them via this: https://thebridgehomelessnesstohope.enthuse.com/pf/ogemdi-chinwendu-anika
