faith enough

The bad news: According to the Sydney Morning Herald on April 30…. Jeff Gambin, founder of the Sydney charity Just Enough Faith, is broke, homeless and facing criminal charges. Police are investigating his affairs while an administrator is in the process of closing down his charitable organisation. Just Enough Faith has been feeding the homeless in The Domain each night for the past 15 years.


Gambin has been accused of gambling away up to $150 000 which had been donated to the charity. Bank records of the charity showed that hundreds of dollars a day were being withdrawn from the ATM machines at the Balmain Tigers Leagues Club. These allegations came at the same time as an investigation was being conducted into alleged breaches of charitable fund-raising laws. The government has appointed an administrator to Just Enough Faith, having previously found numerous irregularities within the charity.

The bad news is that founders of organisations that are supposed to do good are sometimes weighed and found wanting. Leaders fail. Families suffer. Charities get shut down. People get hurt. I read the news at home and become a little less trusting, a little more cynical.


The good news: There isn’t just one group feeding the homeless. The SMH reports that another local charity, The Exodus Foundation, agreed to feed around 200 homeless people in The Domain each evening until June. (At a cost of about $55 000.)

The good news is that some leaders are able to continue to serve with integrity. Established by the Uniting Church minister Rev Bill Crews, The Exodus Foundation assists homeless and abandoned youth in Sydney. It provides free meals to up to 400 people per day and tutors youth who have dropped out of the system.


So when it seems that there isn’t Just Enough Faith, I’m encouraged that there are other examples of NGOs who have proven track records of giving a hand to members of the community who have fallen through the cracks of the government system.