After seven months of living on the streets, Vecius Tapiso is turning his past hardships into a lifeline for others. 

Now the Chairperson of the "Nest of Love" empowerment initiative, Tapiso is dedicating his life to helping the homeless escape the cycle of poverty through dignity and skill-building. 

For the Chairperson of the Nest of Love empowerment initiative, the road to leadership was paved with personal struggle.

Having spent months facing hunger, isolation, and the biting uncertainty of life on the streets, Vecius Tapiso says his experience reshaped his understanding of survival and compassion.

He believes that homelessness is more than just a lack of shelter – it is the devastating loss of hope. 

Now back on his feet, Tapiso has made it his mission to restore that hope through a holistic approach involving food assistance, counselling, and practical skills development.

"So our aims and objectives are to feed, clothe, and do psychosocial support, counselling, and continuous therapy. We also thought since we deal with the homeless, we cannot be able to feed them. We thought the best gift that you can give to a being is actually to give them skill in this world. So we thought, 'Let's come up with training where we develop a programme.' Promoting Healthy Living for Body, Mind, and Soul..." 

The initiative moves beyond basic necessities by introducing structured training programmes. 

Participants can gain employable skills in fields such as nail technology, upholstery, and grader operation, as well as assistance in obtaining learner's and driver's licences – all without the requirement of formal academic qualifications.

The process begins with a rigorous two-week assessment. 

During this phase, participants are evaluated on a ten-point system that measures their motivation, consistency, and behavioural interaction. 

Tapiso emphasises that rebuilding discipline and confidence through moral guidance is essential for long-term reintegration into society.

While the programme is already changing lives, the chairperson notes that more support is needed to expand their reach. For those currently enrolled, the impact is already being felt.

"I just want to thank you for this programme, and we are looking forward for this programme to give us nice benefits, like they are saying that they are giving operation jobs and they are giving licences for us, especially us who are staying in the homeless places and we are orphans and so on."