​A 26-year-old Lindokuhle Qokoman comes from Eastern Cape and found himself homeless in Johannesburg until the Gauteng Department of Social Development came into his rescue.
He is one of the displaced people who are being housed in park homes officially opened by the Gauteng Social Development MEC, Morakane Mosupyoe, at Wembley Stadium, Turffontein South of Johannesburg.

The shelter caters for more than sixty homeless people. Qokoman said his misfortune came about after he came across an opportunity to record his music on the internet, a wish he had since childhood.

“I was enticed to Johannesburg but when I reached Park Station, I tried to get hold of the people I was communicating with and they were nowhere to be found. My dream as a child has always been to find myself in the city of gold as I have heard good things about it, instead I ended in the shelter”.

Qokoman spent nights sleeping under the bridges and joined long queues for food and toiletries until he met someone who referred him to the Wembley shelter. He has since learned to accept his life as its changing for the better. This is attributed to social work intervention, including counselling. In Wembley, Qokoman was exposed to library to access information and internet which is not far from the shelter.

“Being a homeless does not mean that we do not have dreams, it’s only the conditions that define us in the eyes of the public. Next year I would love to study sound engineering and make sure that I fulfil my dream although things are not easy but with a positive attitude anything is possible. Already the department has offered short courses in computers and program management” he said with a smile.