Living a life of service, finding your purpose & tackling homelessness | Roseanne Rofaeel | Ep 3
Manage episode 361740329 series 3470728
Born and raised in Melbourne to refugee parents, Roseanne Rofaeel enjoyed a comfortable childhood – but knew that her reality was not the same as others'.
When her plans to work as a missionary overseas were thwarted, she donated her 17th, 18th and 19th birthdays to build water wells for communities in Cambodia, Ethiopia and Mozambique.
She then turned her attention to the suffering she saw in her own backyard, among Melbourne's homeless community. In 2016, she founded Christmas on the Streets (COTS), a non-profit organisation that works to help break the stigma of homelessness, with the mantra: 'Homeless, not hopeless.'
COTS started with a one-off drive to deliver clothing, shoes, food vouchers, sanitary items, sleeping bags and mobile phones – and companionship – to homeless men and women. It has since grown to provide regular street runs and seasonal drives.
Roseanne is now working to extend COTS to become a national organisation to help disadvantaged people from all across Australia. A recent Young Australian of the Year finalist for Victoria 2020, I am so blessed to have Rose on this episode.
We chat all things family values, a life of service, how do we find our purpose and Rose shares some wise and important stories from the people she has met on the streets and in prison.
Find out all things Roseanne and COTS here:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christmasonthestreets/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roseanne.rofaeel/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christmasonthestreets/
Web: https://christmasonthestreets.com/
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