Girl’s mission to fulfill homeless Dalston man’s wish to return home to Jamaica raises over £4,000 in under a day

Jenny with Michael on Saturday night before she launched the crowdfunding campaign to get him home to Jamaica. Archant

Over £4,300 has been raised in just 24 hours to grant a homeless man his wish to make it back home to Jamaica, after a girl on a night out in Dalston was touched by his story – and now she needs to track him down to tell him the good news.

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Jenny Baker’s selfless mission began on Saturday night when she got chatting to the 64-year-old man she only knows as “Michael”.

He told her he had come over to England with his mum for “a better life”, but when she passed away he found himself homeless with no funds to support himself.

Ms Baker, who lives in Rotherhithe, offered him some money.

She said: “He didn’t want money or booze, he just said he loved a ginger beer, so I went and got him a ginger beer and a sandwich.

“He told me that all he wants more than anything in the world is to go back to Jamaica where he says he will be fine and happy again.”

She was so touched by his story she promised him he would be back in Jamaica this time next year, and that she would make it her “personal mission” to make it happen.

Yesterday she put out a plea on internet crowd funding site, Go Fund Me, and within 19 hours the target of £800 for a flight to Jamaica had more than tripled, with donations coming from as far away as Canada, Cape Town and Dubai.

Ms Baker said: “He was honestly just a genuinely lovely, unassuming man.

“He has no phone or anything so I am going to have to find him again - this all sounds crazy but I will do it.”

She now wants to use the extra money to help set up Michael in Jamaica and hopefully get him off the streets.

Comments from some of the 356 people who have donated so far include: “Such a lovely story- restores my faith in humanity”, “This has made me cry”, and “Everyone needs help at some point! Michael is so lucky you found him, you truly are his angel.”

To add your support to the #getmichaelhome campaign, visit www.gofundme.com/6rb6f0.