Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

09 October 2025

2-minute read

Sometimes life doesn’t unfold the way we dream it would. Carrying not only the weight of survival, but also the burden of lost opportunities, Shaun Hitchcock found himself on the streets with nowhere to call home.

At his lowest point, he says that he “made some stupid choices, and did some stupid thigs,” when suddenly he found himself living on the streets. Desperate after a few weeks on the streets, Shaun approached One Small Act of Kindness and the organization arranged for him to stay at the Windsor shelter in Cresta, giving him a chance to rebuild his life.

Finding a gap in the e-hailing market, Shaun had to first pay back R2500 in outstanding traffic fines before he could renew his driver’s license. He borrowed the money, paid out the fines , renewed his license and got his PDP, which is a Professional Driving Permit, for driving certain types of heavy goods vehicles, buses, minibuses, or any vehicle used for transporting paying passengers.

Many people would give up when life pushes them down, but Shaun chose to push back, continuing to volunteer and helping with community clean-ups. Motivated by the work One Small Act of Kindness was doing and wanting to get involved; he chose to lend a helping hand instead of sitting back and feeling sorry for himself.

Getting his PDP license was a huge step forward. Sometimes, people “just need that one little bit of help to get them back onto the ladder,” says Shaun. He got that push from the organization. “It’s just so amazing to get up and have something to do in the morning,” he laughs, to earn his own money and finally being able to move into his own place.

The biggest lesson he’s learned so far is that there is nothing humiliating in asking for help because the “worst that can happen is that somebody can say no,” Shaun states. People are always willing to help if they are aware of the type of help you need. The second is that no matter how bad a situation can become and even though you’re unlikely to forget your past, “you can always make it better and you can always rebuild your life.”

As he steps into this new chapter of his life, Shaun hopes to rebuild the broken relationships that came about as a result of the choices he made. “I’m on the road at the moment to rebuilding the life that I once had, but I’m still a long way away from getting back to where I was,” he concludes.

Listen to the full interview with Ml Junaid Kharsany and Shaun Hitchcock here.