SHARE
COPY LINK

Swedish couple helps beggars buy house

A Swedish couple walked by a beggar on the street. Instead of dropping pocket change into a paper cup, they decided to help on a more dramatic scale.

Swedish couple helps beggars buy house
Emma and Jonas Sandwall. Photo: ReachOutLove/Emma Sandwall

Desperate for money to feed their children after losing their home in Romania, Roma couple Adrian and Daniela came to Sweden.

Two weeks later, Jonas and Emma Sandwall walked by. They saw Daniela begging on the street in the small city of Jönköping. While many ignore the greetings of beggars on the streets, the Sandwalls greeted them with open arms.

Adrian and Daniela were offered temporary residence in the Sandwall's basement. Soon another family chipped in and invited them to stay at their summer house

And the Sandwalls have also managed to raise 22,000 kronor ($3,272) for the Roma family, as part of their new project Reach Out Love.

"We started Reach Out Love partly because we want to help our new friends," the couple wrote on their website, "and at the same time to challenge people to find out more about the situation in our cities and the people who are sitting and begging for money."

Friends and family contributed to the cause and Adrian was soon offered a temporary position in construction. The family was able to send a package with clothes and school supplies to their three children in Romania.

"Their house was washed away in a landslide. Now they have enough money for the down-payment on  new house in Romania," Emma Sandwall told local paper Jönköpings Posten.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.