For the past 10 years, Dutty Sham, president of the Swali’tainment association, and his friend Pradeep have been organizing events every Sunday morning. “Soup Sunday”: a mobile volunteer action to provide a hot meal to the homeless of Saint-Martin.
What began as a one-off initiative has turned into a Sunday ritual. Every Sunday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., Dutty Sham (or just Sham), Pradeep, and Rosette go to the Marigot Marina, on the road to the old hospital, and then to Agrément to offer soup to the homeless. “For us, culturally, soup is what we usually eat in the morning, it’s the workers’ meal, it’s quite heavy, with a little Johnny Cake and it’s good, it keeps you going all day!”. Thanks to Teddy, the cook, almost 80 bowls of soup are prepared every Sunday, with donations from individuals.
A commitment born on the ground
Sham, a former radio presenter originally from Agrément, started in the non-profit sector in 2015 with his association Swali’tainment: a structure that helps young people in the neighborhoods to encourage them to participate in artistic and sporting activities and which, today, is also behind the “Soup Sunday”Also involved in neighbourhood mediation, he did not hesitate when his friend Pradeep Sadarangani, president of the Saint-Martin Indian Association, told him about the homeless people of Marina Royale. “Instead of chasing them away like everyone else did at the time, we wanted to bring them food and try to understand them.”, explains Sham.
Give what you can, without bias or judgment
Apart from the forced three-month hiatus following Hurricane Irma in 2017, the “Soup Sunday” have never stopped. Despite this weekly commitment, Sham confides that she wants to do more: “We would have liked to do it every day, but it costs a lot and takes time.”The lack of resources remains an obstacle, but he insists: “You give what you can, nobody is obligated to give €1000, you give €20, €10, it counts”. He also dreams of creating a space dedicated to welcoming the homeless, outside the tourist area: “A space where, if you ever have the time, you can come and help”.
The fear of seeing a generation lost
Dutty Sham, whose real name is Andy, grew up in Saint Martin witnessing the precarious situation of the homeless and the circumstances that led them into these dramatic situations: drugs, alcohol, but also the absence of family ties on the island. “Most of these young [homeless] people’They don’t even have parents on the island. ” Andy, for his part, remains present every Sunday, convinced that”At first, this man was a baby that everyone loved, he was a boy who had a future. ” What worries him most are the young people: “J’ai vI was in my neighborhood with young drug addicts, and today they’re old and still involved, so I’I’m afraid for young people, seeing them spend their whole lives in this.”Not a day goes by without him having his grandmother’s words in mind: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (There is more happiness in giving than in receiving – editor’s note). _DR
To make a donation and support Soup Sunday, contact the association on Facebook: Swali’tainment – urlr.me/ecTvVs
Source: Faxinfo https://faxinfo.fr/en/portrait-dun-homme-au-grand-coeur-dutty-sham-le-visage-derriere-les-soup-sunday/
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