What is Love? Is it to be affectionate to those you care about? Is it to be aware of the things that you care about? Or is it to protect the things that you care about? Perhaps it is a combination of all these things. However, one thing they all have in common is “CARING”. 

The dictionary definitions of love are “an intense feeling of deep affection” and “a great interest and pleasure in something”. For me personally, to love is to care. If that is the case, why do most people not care about the hardships that are faced by the homeless. Why do people not care about them? 

Before we get into that, let me introduce myself. My name is John Chikondewa Mpaso, however most people call me either “John “or “Chiko” and sometimes people combine it to “John Chiko”. I am originally from Zimbabwe, having moved to Coventry, England in 2004 for educational and economic opportunities that are available in this country.  

When I left Zimbabwe, the government were carrying out an operation called “Murambatsvina” (Operation Restore Order) which was a large-scale campaign to forcibly clear slum areas in the country, particularly in Harare where the ruling party had just lost a local election. By the way I am 29 years old, so I was 10 years old when I came to England. 

In school I picked up quite a few skills that would later define me in my life such as I.C.T, Photography and English Literature, as building on them over the years has provided me many professional and freelance opportunities. So, in terms of my hobbies, I love reading, video games, martial arts, traveling and visual arts from what I can think of right now. 

So, in my teenage years I was very awkward, I was very obese and was not cool so to speak. Didn’t have the best dress code or hygiene. Thinking back now I understand it was because I had really low self-esteem and I did not believe in myself. This can be attributed to many elements, but to be it short I did not have the best guidance when I was growing up. But nonetheless, I went through both Secondary School and Sixth Form in this state which was very tough. Now it was time to do the same thing in university.  

So, 2012 I believe, I went to South West London to study Business Studies which was quite the experience to say the least. When I got there, the first two weeks were awesome, living on your own without your parents, drinking and smoking whenever you want, anywhere you want, was quite the freedom for me, but after the whole freshers phase passed, I realised that I was very unprepared financially to be there and mentally too after a while. I faced many challenges in London. I was just a simple boy in a complicated world during this time, simple and naïve, which ultimately contributed to me not finishing my course and going back to Coventry as a failure, which began the toughest phase of my life.  

So, when I returned to Coventry with my failure, most of my family were not happy with me, which put me in a very deep depression. At the same time, I was not working and when I did get a job, I would not keep it for a long time. This put me at odds with my mother and after we had an argument, she kicked me out of her house and that began my homeless journey, which was greatest thing to have ever happened to me, as not only did I get learn about the nature of human beings, I also learnt about myself and who I was.  

So, when I was homeless, I found myself in Hillfields, which is considered to be the most dangerous borough in Coventry, right next to the City Centre. There is a Salvation Army where they provide Rough Sleeping Services. I remember how they gave you one of those rubber beds that resemble a stretcher, and most importantly it was how people in the rough sleeper room treated each other. The obscene language, the strange odours and the drug taking made me think deeply about who I was and what I was doing here. It seemed to me that everyone in that room had some deep intrinsic issues, traumas that had created such desperate situations for them.  

But if that’s the case, did that mean that I had issues? Did I have traumas that had created these issues for me? At that point after having that thought, I began to believe that it did not matter what you were going through in the physical world, because that can change; the world is in a constant state of change, what I realised was that it was the internal world within us that was the most important, because if that one was compromised, if it was disturbed, then that could be the end of you. At that point a new philosophy was brewing within me. 

So, I spent three years being homeless in Coventry living in Hillfields. I met many characters, some good, some bad; people that would define how I saw the world and my very own work ethic and self-belief, which I will get into over time because they were a long three years to say the least, but I finally got a studio-flat in East Coventry where I currently am.  

I now work for an organisation called ININI Initiative which was started and run by my mother, which focuses on the Mental Health of Migrant Communities in Coventry and I also volunteer for another organisation called CARAG (Coventry Asylum Refugee Action Group) which I was introduced to by my mother who attended it due to her own experiences with the Asylum & Migrant System of the UK. I have been working at both organisations for around two years now so far and I must say I am happy with the results we have had from the work that we have done throughout these two shorts years.  

Well, this is a short introduction about me, over time I will be getting more into my misadventures in Hillfields as this is where I learnt everything about homelessness in Coventry. So, for now thank you very much. 

Until next time.