My name is Mirko, in July 2015, I packed my bags and left my home City in Germany to move to a place that inspires me. I am currently studying at Varsity College in Rondebosh. I have lived in a township in Namibia in 2014, where I learned a great deal about how people's realities differ. When I moved to Cape Town, a close person who made this personal story possible motivated me to stay socially active, resulting in what you are reading right now.

 

My approach to this project is simple. 

If you have been to Cape Town you have witnessed that there is a vast amount of people asking you for money on the street. Especially for somebody from Germany it can be quiet overwhelming to be confronted with poverty, daily, on the way to college, the shop or the beach. 

In order to survive, this disadvantaged people have no choice but to beg...or that is what I thought, until I met people who have faced the same realities but would not accept hopelessness. This people found their own way and they work, every day, towards their dreams.

It is a mindset that I admire and that many people can learn from, including myself. This is why I put my own effort in creating a space for them on which they can be exposed to people who can lend them a helping hand, that is you.

Additionally I support them with business procedures, for example simple bookkeeping and effective purchasing and pricing to make their products and services competative and long-term sustainable. 

 

How it works. 

The Observatory Lifestyle Market is a colourful place, where people from the township was given the chance to rent a shop for small money to present their craft. After getting to know them I decided that it is a concept I would like to support. For the start I have asked two of them to write down their story. You can find them under "Siyazama" and after getting to know Sibhonda and Ivy you can decide yourself if you want to support them. They need small material things, that will help them in their day-today business, like pots, plates or a new sewing machine. If you are interested in donating this items, then I am more than happy to buy them, provide you with a receipt and of cause document the process on the website so you can rest assure your donation reaches them. If you are interested in donating or contributing in another way, don't be shy to drop me an email or give me a call.

All in all the project follows the principle, support to self-support. 

 

I want to say thank you. 

I find myself waking up in the Mother City again, every day, thanks to the support of some close people. 

First of all my family and friends who beared a year of hard work and uncertainty with me and let me go when it was time to catch the plane. 

I owe my uncle Andreas a great thank you for he made this journey possible and provided me with a great deal of inspiration and advice.