“Teacher, TEACHER! Let me play with your hair! Do you like my paper? Look at this snail! Pass the ball! Look, I can hang upside down! That one hit me! Pick me up! Let’s do this puzzle! I love you! Take a picture! This one stole my pencil!”
Monday through Thursday for four weeks, my team and I worked at the Human Dignity Center (HDC), a primary school for underprivileged children in Walmer Township in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
The township’s past is a tragic one. During Apartheid, a seriously brutal time in South African history that ended in 1994 (not that long ago!), the government relocated millions of non-whites to “townships” outside the city limits.
The townships are hardly nice little suburban neighborhoods though. Most of the homes are shacks pieced together with wood and metal from the landfills with no electricity, no running water, no insulation, holes in the roofs and walls, some dirt floors, etc. The sewage system is a huge problem. Water is a huge problem.
People are seriously, seriously struggling. Unemployment, crime, HIV and AIDS are not just textbook terminology to me anymore. They are REAL and they are NOW.
The principal of the school, Peter, would drive us around sometimes and point out kids. “Those kids should be in school. See that little boy? He should be in school.”
Of course Peter has a passion for education. But he also has a passion for the kids’ safety. Children wander around the township alone all day – and so do the unemployed. Sexual assault is happening. Human trafficking is definitely happening.
As you can see, this little school is so vital. Tuition is free. The meal plan provides kids with enough nutrition for a day because some don’t get anything at home. Teachers squeeze toothpaste onto each student’s toothbrush every day. Most of their parents are uneducated but they contribute by cleaning or working in the school’s garden.
And wow, the teachers and staff empower these children and fill them with hope. Every morning they sing, “We are the winners in Jesus Christ!” They are taught that they are special. That they are worthy. That Jesus loves them even if no one else really does. That their lives have a purpose.
We worked one-on-one with some of the slower learners and a couple of my teammates taught classes for a week or more. And to see one child grasp a concept or learn another word or focus on a worksheet for more than ten minutes was a huge triumph.
But our time with them was also hard, to be honest. They are small children but they live in a world that most of us can only imagine. They kick and punch other students and us too! They steal. They give love by jumping on you and demanding your attention. It was exhausting. By the time we got to ride home on our sketchy white van at four o’clock, we were pretty dead.
The staff members at HDC really are the hands and feet of Jesus. They’re fulltime givers. They’re always pouring out, always patient, always sacrificing. Their level of commitment blew me away.
Jesus actually said, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” Then “he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them” (Mark 10:14, 16). I believe these children will bring the kingdom of God in South Africa. They will make a difference. And it’s because a few people decided these kids really are worth it all. I’m guessing Jesus thinks so, too.
