Meet Oom Piet.

We would like you to meet our friend, Oom Piet. He used to live on an empty piece of property in Lynnwood road. After a piece of stale bread for breakfast, he would collect paper and other materials that he could trade for money. As dusk settled over the city of Pretoria, Oom Piet would take his favourite seat on a few stacked bricks on the pavement. From there he could watch the busy Lynnwood traffic and comment on the weather. Oom Piet is an expert when it comes to weather forecasts. We met Oom Piet there in Lynnwood road, where he sat at his favourite spot. He became a very good friend of ours. Even though living under the stars can have some advantages, a weather specialist knows that rain can be a problem with no roof over your head. So, during the past month, we found a new home for Oom Piet. Since Warren Le Grange is no longer a single man, he is setting up a house with his new wife, Steynie Le Grange. The result of this is that his place in Mamelodi has a new owner. During a “from rubbish to radish” project, we helped Oom Piet set up a nice vegetable garden next to his new house. When the crops are ready to harvest, he will sell some of the veggies to his neighbours for some extra money. Oom Piet also found another job. He works at a guest house in Centurion a few times a week. OMNI committed to help Oom Piet by paying his monthly rent of R300. This includes his water and electricity.

If you would also like to become a friend of Oom Piet and help OMNI make their contributions, you can comment on this blog or contact Berdene at 082 972 4751.

Even though Oom Piet is now a changed man, we still visit him at his favourite place in Lynnwood road, where he watches the traffic from his stacked bricks, a fresh loaf of bread in his hands.