Enjoy DIY Today

I am Dianne and I live in the squatter's area where under priveleged families like ours struggle every day to earn a living. I am 13 years of age and an out-of-school youth. I sell flowers outside the church during Sunday mass and special occasions.

It was a rainy day in June, while waiting for the mass in the church to finish, when I and my friend Julie met Angelo. Angelo, 21 years old, is a driver of a local skip hire company. He was waiting for a tricycle to arrive and drop him a liter of diesel. He ran out of diesel and the petrol station is 500 meters away from where he got stuck. He asked the tricycle driver to buy him diesel and paid a small amount.

While he was waiting for the diesel to arrive, he had a chat with me and Julie. Angelo told us his story before he became a driver for the local skip hire.

He was begging at the train station to be able to survive each day and buy a meal for his sick mother and an eight year old brother. He felt hopeless because he did not even finish primary studies. He cannot forget the day when an old man approached him at the train station and asked him if he wanted to work for him. The old man unexplainably felt for him. He said that he sees himself in Angelo when he was still the same age and living as well in the street. The old man gave Angelo a job as local skip hire driver. Angelo was so happy that he did not even realize that he doesn't know how to drive. But the old man gave him the necessary support to learn driving and get his license.

While having his training in driving and even office training at the old man's local skip hire business, Angelo was also given responsibility to help in some works being undertaken for the extensions of the old man's house. The refurbishment projects in the old man's house took three months to finish which allowed Angelo to earn enough every month for his family. Angelo was able to learn a lot in matters of waste disposal as well necessary for his work now as a driver in the skip hire business.

Angelo's story is so inspiring. He said that angels do not necessarily have wings. The old man serves as his angel until now.