Changing lives

“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”

These words of the late Nelson Mandela hold a special place in the hearts of the staff of Cape Town-based U-turn Homeless Ministries.

Twenty-two years ago, Capetonian Colleen Lewis was heartbroken when she saw a homeless man pushing a trolley in the street. She reached out to him and shared the word of God with him. In the days that followed, she reached out to him again, offered him some food and told him to come back the next week.

When the man returned the following week, he was not alone. Several other homeless people arrived with him. Seeing the need to provide food and shelter to the homeless, Colleen subsequently founded U-turn Homeless Ministries. The organisation has been working with Cape Town’s homeless communities ever since.