Children we love

Evangeline Celebrates Children
To be in Africa is to be among the most child populated place in the world. I rarely see a young woman here without a child and in my sewing classes, usually I am the only one who has never had children. I love to drive through Masiphumelele when school has finished for the day just to see the boys and girls spilling out of the building in their navy blue and white uniforms. However, one of the sad facts of life for children here is that they are so at risk. For this reason Living Hope, the South Africa organization with which I am linked, works with hundreds of children each week in a Prevention Program. One of these after school projects is in the informal settlement of Capricorn. I know the place well since Evangeline Ministries had a soup kitchen there when I first started. The children at Capricorn come from homes that abound with problems: mothers on drugs or alcohol, fathers in jail, poverty, child-headed households and the resultant sub-standard education. One of the volunteers who help with the children saw a big need. In their shacks the kids had no place for any of their personal or prized possessions. There is no room in a shack for you to hide anything so the children can feel special. Gail decided upon a mini hanging closet, or you could say a small shoe bag and she asked if the Evangeline sewing class would make them. The women were delighted to help. They too live in shacks and understood the need so well. When these cloth bags were finished we took them to the children for each boy and girl to paint them and personalize their bag. The results are stunning. I went with another teacher to see them and receive the hugs and thanks of the kids. They also loved to have their pictures taken. I wanted to help our women understand how blessed it is to give and when I showed them the decorated items they were thrilled. As a bonus the kids made a bag for me and the three teachers. We gave and received so much more. As you can see from my happy smile, I loved that moment.