Londoners brave coldest night of year for rough sleep’ challenge
LONDONERS braved the coldest night of the year when they left their comfortable beds and warm homes to sleep on cardboard boxes for charity. The mass 12-hour sleep-athon’ at Spitalfields Market raised cash for street children of Brazil
LONDONERS braved the coldest night of the year when they left their comfortable beds and warm homes to sleep on cardboard boxes for charity.
The Big City Sleep mass 12-hour sleep-athon’ took place at Spitalfields Market, in the heart of London’s East End, to raise cash for street children of Brazil.
Sleepers from all over London turned up, including students and professionals, young and old, men and woman, to take part in the mass sleep-out under the stars.
It was organised by ABC Trust which campaigns for the street kids.
“We all take our home comforts for granted, so this was to help people know what street children have to go through,” said trust founder Jimena Page.
“But we were in a sheltered and secure space, with hot food, entertainment and a light breakfast and hot tea in the morning.
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“Seven million children continue suffering from hunger, isolation and violence on the streets of Brazil every day while we have homes and jobs to go back to.”
Sleepers were given hot food from a nearby restaurant and were entertained with Anglo-Brazilian band Zeep before bedding down for the night with silver foil blankets to keep the chill out.
The temperature dropped to minus-1 degree Celsius in the early hours of the first day of December.
But the rough sleepers’ raised �15,645 with more pledged, busting the charity’s 15,000 target.
