One of the most haunting realities for those living in cosmopolitan cities is the fear of loneliness. This may be painful to bear, but far more frightening still, is the horror of loosing the roof over ones head. Those who have had this harrowing expirience understand not only the humiliation that comes with ending up in the streets, but also the physical and mental trauma that follow suit.

Through job lose, ill health, immigration challenges, abusive relationships or other unforeseen circumstances, many find themselves out in the cold, stranded and unable to change their sad situations.

To do the little we can for the homeless in the UK, we are partnering with the London based fashion brand OKON Underwear and Sportswear for a regular gifting of quality tracksuits to these vulnerable souls; to simply let them know they are not alone. We will also seek collaboration with a UK based clothing production factory in making the quality tracksuits

We are hoping everyone will support our campaign to raise funds for our 1000 quality designer tracksuits for the homeless UK wide. We will initiate the funding drive for this inspiring cause soonest

“Top left, homeless eastern European in Lewisham south London, top right formally homeless Brit born young male in north west London, bottom left, homeless young man from Wales in Victoria station, bottom right, homeless Scottish older male in central London”

For the maiden edition of our tracksuit gifting charity event, we will be given UK wide, a select group of homeless shelters and mental health facilities the highend quality designer tracksuits. Very practical for our vulnerable lovelies wishing to shield themselves from the unforgiving elements, or simply wanting a “quiet time” in a noisey crowd.

“Homelessness in major cities is a hidden crisis, with the majority of victims trapped in a vicious cruel circle exacerbated on one hand by racism, plus bigotry, and on the other, the modern day hyper individualistic, capitalism driven culture”

Few images of our moving expiriences out in the streets of London with the homeless, with more updates coming soon

“With no income and loss of a long time partner, soft spoken Simon, had no local connection to London and struggled with homelessness. We could only do so much with our little tracksuit gift to keep him warm in the cold, an offer to call a homeless charity, Streetlinks, plus words of encouragement not to give up hope and a promise to check on him few days later, which we did, but we didnt find him at same spot. We could only hope he has found a warm place to settle in”

UK’s prestigious charity, The Salvation Army in Hackney London was one of our beneficiaries because of their long time commitment to helping the homeless. We donated a couple of tracksuits and tees to help their cause

” Collete, Yasheema and Wendy Gibson”

One of Europe’s most symbolic charities for single homeless people, CRISIS, is also one of our most deserving beneficiaries of the OKON tracksuits for UK’s homeless.

Having been personally supported by CRISIS when we were homeless and sleeping on buses, it was a must, we had to look in their direction, to simply say thank you with a modest few donations, which Wendy Gibson excitedly confirmed they,ve already started giving it out to their homeless service users.

The African Angel will be doing much much more for CRISIS to support their worthy cause, as soon as we can

More updates coming soon

Author/ Photos: Azu Ekpo

Email: azu.ekpo @ theafricanangel.org