The highlight of this past week was a tour of Masiphumelele.Now this might seem strange to you since I work with people from Masiphumelele but this was a tour with a difference. I guess you could say I needed to hit the refresh button on my life here to see again the wonderful hope and the huge help needed in Masi, as we call it. A township that started with about 3000 people now houses ten times plus that size, about 38,000 people, a challenge to their community, the government and the surrounding communities. Anyway as I walked with someone who is making a huge difference there, I was delighted to be greeted by Evangeline graduates. There was Busie, looking radiant. "I am still sewing," she assured me with a huge smile. And yes, i will write all of these stories. On this tour I saw so many hopeful signs, new apartments and single homes, a beautiful square and a library anyone would be proud of. I had coffee at the colorful coffee shop in the library courtyard. I could not believe I was in Masi. I visited Nkululeko's shack and saw the care with which he had built it for himself and his family. There was a shiny new stainless sink even though he has no running water. As I photographed him, I was moved by his home, just like yours or mine with the family pictures and some fine china. But I also realized there was a huge difference between his and mine. With the cold and wet winter season coming, I marvelled as to how he would do in a cardboard lined shacked with newspaper stuffed in the seams to try and keep the family warm. My host told me something I had forgotten, that most people there, after they paid for their back shack, electricity, school fees, and transport had approximately twelve rand or two US dollars on which to live and eat. The income gap between those who have and those who do not is so big as to defy reason. Yes there is hope in what we and others like us do, but so much more needs to be done and for Evangeline, that means increasing our work here. Will you help me pray and think more about how we can best do this.
The highlight of this past week was a tour of Masiphumelele.Now this might seem strange to you since I work with people from Masiphumelele but this was a tour with a difference. I guess you could say I needed to hit the refresh button on my life here to see again the wonderful hope and the huge help needed in Masi, as we call it. A township that started with about 3000 people now houses ten times plus that size, about 38,000 people, a challenge to their community, the government and the surrounding communities. Anyway as I walked with someone who is making a huge difference there, I was delighted to be greeted by Evangeline graduates. There was Busie, looking radiant. "I am still sewing," she assured me with a huge smile. And yes, i will write all of these stories. On this tour I saw so many hopeful signs, new apartments and single homes, a beautiful square and a library anyone would be proud of. I had coffee at the colorful coffee shop in the library courtyard. I could not believe I was in Masi. I visited Nkululeko's shack and saw the care with which he had built it for himself and his family. There was a shiny new stainless sink even though he has no running water. As I photographed him, I was moved by his home, just like yours or mine with the family pictures and some fine china. But I also realized there was a huge difference between his and mine. With the cold and wet winter season coming, I marvelled as to how he would do in a cardboard lined shacked with newspaper stuffed in the seams to try and keep the family warm. My host told me something I had forgotten, that most people there, after they paid for their back shack, electricity, school fees, and transport had approximately twelve rand or two US dollars on which to live and eat. The income gap between those who have and those who do not is so big as to defy reason. Yes there is hope in what we and others like us do, but so much more needs to be done and for Evangeline, that means increasing our work here. Will you help me pray and think more about how we can best do this.
No comments:
Post a Comment