- Enrique Hermanus, manager of MES Parow Centre of Hope, chose a career dedicated to helping the homeless after a life-changing encounter.
- MES offers integrated services to the homeless and unemployed in Parow and surrounding areas.
- Enrique highlights the importance of joy and gratitude among his team while serving the community.
For Enrique Hermanus, MES Parow Centre of Hope centre manager, his encounter with homeless and destitute people made him choose a career path that would change both their and his journey in life.
MES, or Mould Empower Serve, offers social work services to the homeless and unemployed. Its one-stop Centre of Hope in Alexandra Street, Parow, provides integrated services to the homeless and street people from communities in Bellville, Parow, Brackenfell and Durbanville.
Enrique spoke to TygerBurger recently and explained his journey and how he got to be involved with the welfare organisation.
“Throughout my life, I have been involved with various non-government organisations, businesses, and churches, all aimed at helping people escape poverty.
“However, my specific focus on homelessness began after watching the movie The Joker at the end of 2019. Unlike previous renditions of the character, this film portrays the Joker’s transformation into a supervillain solely through life’s harsh circumstances, without any supernatural elements.
ALSO READ | ‘More than just a shelter’: Western Cape Premier visits Centre of Hope in Parow
“I watched the movie at Tyger Valley, and as I was leaving, I encountered a man asking for money at a traffic light. Motivated by the film, I tried to encourage him, telling him he could turn his life around. He paused, looked at me, and said, ‘You know, if you were me, you would do the exact same thing.’
“I swallowed my pride and admitted: ‘You know what, I think you are right.’ As the light turned green and I drove off, I realised I needed to make a deliberate effort to integrate myself into the broken fabric of society to help mend it,” Enrique explains.
MES
Soon after this life-changing experience, Enrique decided to get more involved with MES.
“I started working for MES in 2020, a particularly challenging year to join the social development sector. While everyone else wernt indoors avoiding Covid-19, I was out in the community, seeking those in dire need and committed to helping them. Ilse Maartens, the manager of the MES Cape Town branch, approached me with an opportunity to lead a new Drop-in Centre in Durbanville. When she explained the concept, I enthusiastically replied, ‘That sounds amazing, but what is a Drop-in Centre?
“I now describe it as akin to the “Inn” in the Good Samaritan story – a place where struggling individuals can receive holistic help,” he says.
Centre of Hope
Enrique is currently centre manager of the organisation’s Centre of Hope in Parow. “This facility encompasses our entire process flow: outreach and relief, change readiness, work readiness, and integration. We meet people where they are, journey with them, and give them a new beginning.”
TygerBurger also asked about special stories that Enrique may have encountered while working with the homeless and destitute.
“There are countless successes and moments I am grateful for regarding the people we serve. However, I want to highlight the incredible staff I get to work with. Visitors often walk into the centre and say, ‘who is laughing like that? I can hear you from down the road’.
“The reason we laugh so much is that we face the scariest stories and harshest realities every day. Our best defence against this is to count the joy. Our team constantly counts the joy and maintains an attitude of gratitude, which fills our lives with immense meaning.
