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Narjas Zatat
Dec 25, 2016
O'Real Killian/Facebook/Screengrab
Christmas is the time for giving. But not just to family and friends.
25-year-old radiologist O'Real Killian and his friends got together this Christmas, raising almost £2,000 for the homeless.
Over the course of two nights they travelled around London, giving Christmas presents to homeless people.
indy100 caught up with O'Real to talk about the endeavour:
What are you doing?
After the reaction we got last year from a video of us providing the homeless with food, drink and clothing, we figured it would be brilliant to repeat what we did but on a bigger scale.
A donation page was set up so that anyone that wanted to be apart of it this time around, could.
Why are you giving out these presents?
The main objective is to raise awareness, make people realise that Christmas is more than just about receiving presents and stuffing your face.
It's about giving and helping those in a less fortunate position than yourself.
We're trying to make humanity trend. I've witnessed a homeless person approach a working class person, asking for spare change, only to be looked at in disgust or shooed away like they're vermin.
This isn't right.
How much have you raised?
When I opened the donation page I really didn't expect it to exceed £200, £100 was an ambitious target!
I pledged to double whatever the final amount came to.
So you can picture me sweating when it almost hit £1000!
I'm a man of my word...it hit £810 and I personally matched that amount.
It's for a good cause so I'm was more than happy to!
Where are you giving out the presents?
We gave them out all around London, from Stratford to Covent Garden, Tower Bridge, Leicester Square... we kind of did a massive lap of central London!
What are in the presents?
Each hamper contained a variety of items.
Gloves, food, drinks, wipes, sweets, toothpaste, toothbrushes, scarves, thermal socks, plasters.
We kept separate, tins of dog food and sanitary towels just in case we came across those who require them.
What has the reaction been? Has there been a moment that has stuck in your mind?
We got a number of different reactions, the one particular moment that has stuck with me is when we woke a man. He seemed a bit startled and a little nervous at first.
But when we said he had a little present for him he took the bag, looked inside and his face lit up.
He was so grateful and shocked, you could tell this didn't happen to him often. It was really fulfilling!
Although many were grateful, many were cautious and nervous, but were happy when they realised we were just there to help.
Is there anything else you'd like to say?
Thank you to all those who have supported, donated and to those who were able to come out to help distribute the hampers!
I just want everyone to realise that there are people out there alone, cold, starving whilst we're in a warm house, surrounded by family, with our bellies full.
Everyone who took part... donated came out to help or shared... they are a silent knight.
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