People often asks us about the origins of our association. They find it intriguing and some times incredible when they learn about the social work we do and with that often comes the same questions; “What motivates you to do what you do?” “Why do you do it?”…
Not long ago, a girl that visited our place for help asked me a question that originally made me laugh. Looking straight into my eyes she asked me why did I dedicated my life to help others. At first I found it funny as I surely never looked at myself in that manner, but then, having noticed that she wasn’t kidding, I just reminded her about the plight of the people elsewhere and how lucky I was to be doing what I want by organizing events and making a contribution to society.
There are times in life in which your fears blind your dreams. Instead of living life we adapt and conform with what we believe to be our faith, slowly falling into a pit of hopelessness and depression. What makes us believe again? What does it take to recover your self worth and confidence?
Maybe there is a reason why social services are not suitable to help some of the more vulnerable people in society, and maybe, the responsibility of keeping the social balance is not the one of the government but the duty of any citizen in society.
As we struggle with our daily lives, concerned about our jobs, the rent, money and sometimes even Kate Moss’s cocaine problem, we completely loose sight in what is really important and the true way to stability. Our society has been manipulated by the system for decades to makes us believe that money and wealth is the reflexion of how good or bad an individual is.
Members ONLY clubs, social classes, fenced walls and high street shopping centres are all undercover Berlin Walls separating us from the reality of the places we live in. We act as if our survival is dependent on having more then others, creating an collective sense of individualism and greed that in itself causes harm to society.
At LaFinKa, we simply believe that by making our society more equal we are creating the only stability that can provide the next generation a better and safer place. Our children will only benefit if the homeless person has a job and a house. They will gain if nobody has to steal to feed himself or is family and the pathway to our buildings are not being blocked by nearly frozen homeless people.
We believe in the power of listening to people and trying to help them that way. By not prejudging and respecting everyone we conquered the trust of the ones we try to help. Most of our members (me included) have faced advert circumstances in life including homelessness and that life experience and ability to relate to the people you are trying to reach is what differentiates us from others that do what we do.
Prejudice the reason for some people to look in the other direction even when they can help and make a difference. Far from being bad people, they are just a product of a social mentality that prevailed for generations which creates and promotes fear amongst individuals and the unwillingness to make an effort for others.
In adversity we are able to learn things about ourselves that can make us change the way we see things. Also, if we are lucky, we better ourselves in a way that will make you a stronger individual and better able to cope with life, and that is a common trend amongst the people from LaFinKa.
Homeless people are not different from us, in some cases they are just normal people going through a bad time and one step away from living a normal life once again. Others may be suffering from mental issues that may or may not be related to drugs and alcohol addictions. Hard working immigrant people are also amongst the ones more at risk of facing life in the streets as they don’t want to get involved in illicit dealings and are not entitled to any governmental help.
Either way, it is our believe that as an individual everyone in society has the duty of helping others and loudly speak on their behalf. The “pass the bucket” mentality and self imposed ignorance about the suffering of others will bring collateral consequences for our own wellbeing.
We help people believing that we are helping far more than the beneficiary but society over all. The foundations of or work consists in creating communication bridges between people that can benefit the most vulnerable, by providing them with direct and immediate help with their suffering.
Creating a better world is about making people smile in sadness and cry in happiness. It’s about making they believe again and try to change their life’s for the better. Our aim is to create a society where people think twice about what we can do to make someone’s life easier. Compassion and love is what makes the difference and if we all do a little bit that bit will become enough to eradicate homelessness from our streets.
What motivates us is the smile on people’s faces, and we do it because we believe that we can make a difference. Our origins are a mix between our own difficulties and the unbreakable desire we share to make this world a better place.
As we started or project we met amazing individuals that have showed that there are more people like us, more people willing to help. Our faith was deepened by the people we met and the positive energy they bring with them.
LaFinKa’s volunteers cook, distribute food, spend cold nights in the streets talking with the homeless people making lists of what they may need as a priority, they spend hours every week exclusively and tirelessly working without any financial rewards in mind for the sake of creating a better/more equal society. They dedicate their time for an ideal that will prevail forever in the hearts and minds of the people they come across.
Unconventional methods and unorthodox assistance to make the best out of what we have…
Thank you all for understanding.
