24 Days of Pain – Day 08 – Giving Lunch to homeless people and a PB up Lions Head

Day 8 of the 24 Days of Pain was a really heart warming day filled with giving back to those in need and then a Personal Best up Lions Head!!

If you watch my vlog below, you’ll see that I kicked my day off by heading into town to go take photos of strangers for my #365PortraitsOfStrangers project that I have been doing this entire year, but this time I went looking for those less fortunate people that live on the street so I could give them some lunch.

My first stop was the Engen in Gardens so I could get them a Woolies Pie and an ice cold 500ml Coke. After leaving there, it didn’t take long to see a few homeless people sitting close to the Garden Center, which is where I met Silas, Johnson and David!

This is part of a campaign I am doing with Ricoh, who are the folks that make Pentax Camera’s and they are actually giving away a Pentax k-5 ii DSLR with a 18-135 WR lens valued at R20,000! Read more about the campaign!

After that, I went home, had some lunch and then made my way up Lions Head again for some PAIN! I recorded a PB of 26 minutes to the top, which has been my best time yet since getting back into fitness again!

Watch the vlog for all the time-lapses I did at the top as well as myself and Carlinn putting up the Christmas Tree in our apartment when the power went out.

“Night Hikers” | Watch the last of the people on @lionsheadct hike down on Sunday evening and then the clouds start coming in which turned into the mist we had yesterday. #lionshead #timelapse #longexposure #LifeOfMike #canon7D #capetown #campsbay #southafrica #hikecapetown #thisissouthafrica #meetsouthafrica

A video posted by Mike Eloff (@thelawry) on Dec 12, 2014 at 10:03pm PST

“Wildlife on Lions Head” | Sorry for the influx of photos. We have no electricity in Camps Bay and I have nothing else to do because I’m pretty wasted after a crazy run up @lionsheadct earlier. #lionshead #capetown #lizard #southafrica #24DaysOfPain #LifeOfMike

A photo posted by Mike Eloff (@thelawry) on Dec 12, 2014 at 9:55am PST

“Slow Signals” | Here’s a slow shutter I got from the top of @lionsheadct today! It was such an epic mission up there today too because when I got to the top, I was the only one up there with an incredible view all to myself. I did meet some awesome people that did come up after me. Comment below if you were one of them ✌️ #lionshead #LifeOfMike #24DaysOfPain #signalhill #capetown #avgcampro #southafrica

A photo posted by Mike Eloff (@thelawry) on Dec 12, 2014 at 9:41am PST

365 Portraits of Strangers Day 339 – “Silas the homeless man from Pretoria” Meet Silas. I met him while walking around Gardens yesterday giving homeless people lunch because it’s the festive season and the time for giving. I’m also trying to inspire change in and around Cape Town with Ricoh South Africa, but check my blog about that tomorrow. Silas is from Pretoria but moved to Cape Town 11 years ago to find work, but has been struggling since he got here. He gets the odd job here and there either as a painter, working in gardens and things like that. He lives on the street now and begs for money when he doesn’t have any to buy food. One of his biggest daily struggles is finding a place to keep the little clothes he has and a blanket because when people donate clothes to him, they only last a few days before they are stolen while he’s sleeping! He was so happy to receive something to eat and drink. Watch my latest vlog on www.lifeofmike.co.za to see me talking to Silas. (It’s still uploading to YouTube) #365PortraitsofStrangers

A photo posted by Mike Eloff (@thelawry) on Dec 12, 2014 at 11:49pm PST

365 Portraits of Strangers Day 340 – “Johnson the African Craftsman” Say hello to Johnson. He’s originally from the Transkei, but has been living in Cape Town since 2010. He was another stranger that I met while looking for people to give lunch to yesterday. It’s part of a campaign called #RicohChange where Ricoh South Africa are trying to inspire change in people. I’m trying to inspire people to change the way they see the less fortunate and to stop and sometimes talk to them because that is all they need sometimes. Johnson is a craftsman and sells homemade greeting cards and beaded art in Mill Street. He was sweating so much in the heat when he came to sit in he shade and the look on his face when I gave him a pie and an ice cold coke for lunch was priceless. Check my blog later for my latest vlog, Day 08 of the 24 Days of Pain, to watch the video of me talking to him (still uploading to YouTube)! #365PortraitsofStrangers

A photo posted by Mike Eloff (@thelawry) on Dec 12, 2014 at 12:27am PST

365 Portraits of Strangers Day 341 – “David the homeless hitchhiker from P.E.” Say hello to David. I met him in Gardens yesterday while I was out finding less privileged people to give lunch to as part of a campaign I’m doing with Ricoh South Africa to inspire change in people. David is from Port Elizabeth, but moved here a very long time ago. He left home because when his mother died, himself and his step-father didn’t see eye to eye and he ran away. He hitchhiked all the way from P.E. to Cape Town and has been here ever since. He lives on the streets now and struggles everyday to find enough money to buy himself something to eat. To try make some money, he works as a car guard, but it’s illegal where he does it so he often gets chased away. Check my blog later for my most recent video, Day 08 of the 24 Days of Pain to see me talking to David. (Still uploading to YouTube). #365PortraitsofStrangers

A photo posted by Mike Eloff (@thelawry) on Dec 12, 2014 at 12:54am PST