Hello
Today we are writing about our first full day here in South Africa and some of the incredible people we encountered.
At the start of the day we joined with others at the Hands at Work Hub for a meeting and worship time ... You can listen to a little bit of the African style worship here
We travelled about 40 minutes on some pretty bumpy roads to get to Mafambisa. As well as buying some food basics for the care point at a supermarket, we stopped at the roadside for some better value offers which Audrey and Eunice (our hosts from Hands at Work today) sorted out... (See below)
When we first arrived at the care point, we were introduced to the care workers and heard briefly how they came to be in a position of care for the young people. Later, we split into two groups and went on separate Holy Home Visits to members of the community who are familiar to the care point. Their stories were difficult to hear but the resilience and strength of these people was inspiring.
(No real names have been used*)
One of the groups split off on a 45 minute walk to a small house which is home to 8 people. We spoke to a lady and her daughter about how they live and what they do to help themselves and their family through these difficult conditions. The words they spoke to us about their background and everyday life touched us all, it was hard knowing that people have to face these situations everyday. The Gogo (grandmother) of the family had eight children but unfortunately one had passed away. One of her daughters lived with Gogo, with her 4 year old son. She shared her life stories with us and why she moved over to Mafambisa; she came to live with Gogo because she needed to get away from an abusive relationship. But Gogo and her daughter were able to greet us and wave us goodbye with a welcoming smile and handshake. The daughter of Gogo did not have a job and her son was not able to get to the care point everyday, so Eunice from Hands at Work suggested the daughter should become one of the care workers at the care point so she is able to bring her son with her everyday that he goes there. The care workers are all volunteers and do not get paid for what they do to help these children, but this also shows how much they care about peoples lives, especially young children, and show that they go out of their own time to help these children everyday.
The other group left the care point with the intention of visiting a Grandmother who had recently come to the care point and behaved somewhat aggressively, with the intention of diffusing the situation. Unfortunately, she was wasn’t there so we walked further on to visit a Gogo who cares for 11 grandchildren. Most of Gogo’s children have unfortunately passed away, therefore she has taken in the children they sadly have left behind. When we arrived, we learned that Gogo was camping and working at a farm, so we did not get to meet this incredible woman. However, we did meet her Grandson, Ben*, who spoke about what an incredible grandmother she is. Ben’s mother died when he was a baby and much to his dismay, he does not have a relationship with his father, because his father left the family to start a new family with someone else. Ben spoke about how much he adored the care point and we saw, for the first time, the amazing impact that the care workers have on the children. As a school pupil, he spoke about his ambitions for when he left school to become an actor. Gogo’s mother also lives in the house and is caring for her great-grandchildren whilst Gogo is providing for them and also her brother, who is living in the house and who is struggling with medical issues as well as an injury. Ben spoke very good English and it was a pleasure to be able to communicate with him and learn his story.
Heidi and Aoife
