There’s a place in the Free State where hope is hidden. A town where death is well-known, ambition is lost, sickness is normal, and rituals are a person’s security. A place that is riddled with ghosts of its past taking the form of suffocating socio-economic issues.
I suppose this place is like many others but I do not know the stories of the others. I only know the story of Welkom.
The town originated as nothing until the arrival of the gold mines. And once they were established, those mines put Welkom on the map. Then people and money came flooding in. Workers left their homes for the mines, the companies built settlements for their workers, entertainment in the form of prostitution was welcomed, and business was booming. But one no longer sees that version of Welkom, it doesn’t exist. Instead one sees the ruins of such a place.
Township neighborhoods developed around the company-built settlements. The lack of roads in those cramped, expansive neighborhoods perpetuate gang violence. A shocking majority of the population is affected by HIV/AIDs in one way or the other. Many of the children were born with HIV/AIDs and are now struggling in school, their ability to retain lessons affected by the disease. The graveyards are filling up as the death rate increases and the average age of death decreases. The youth are dying just as quick as the elderly. Now, due to restrictive government policies, nearly all the gold mines have shut down, leaving the masses without jobs and the mine shafts deserted.
Now Welkom lives in the wake of the fleeting prosperity and debauchery that dissolved as soon as it arrived.
But those are just the overarching issues that overwhelm the town. It leaves out the personal issues that individuals face daily. One needs only to drive through the area to feel the heavy weight of hopelessness infecting the residents.
So what does one do to help Welkom? What is there for anyone to do?
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There’s a center in this place that has not lost hope. A home where life is restored, futures are bright, healing is sufficient, and prayers centered on faith never disappoint. A place that is overflowing with the joy and love of a Savior that deems this town worthy.
The Pines Christian Care Center for Children is a home to about 30 kids classified as orphans by the government or taken out of unstable families by social services. The center, once the headquarters of a gold mining company, was renovated into flats for the children as well as other facilities designed according to their purpose. The children live with about five or six of their peers in a flat along with a “Mamma” who raises them and takes care of their physical needs (cooking, cleaning, etc.) Each flat has their own Mamma, but Gran Sally is a grandma to all.
Sally Seefried founded the Pines along with her husband David 10 years ago. Their vision for the center was to raise these children on a biblical basis, sharing with them the Gospel but then also teaching them how to live out their faith. Through this upbringing, the children develop morals outstanding from their environment. A key part of their vision is to then to send these children back into their neighborhoods as adults to make a positive impact on the communities God has chosen for them.
Each child at the Pines is gifted a comprehensive education. However, they don’t all go to the same school, each child is placed into the school that best meets their needs. For Gran Sally doesn’t view them as just residents of the center, they become her family. And she makes sure that each of her children are set up for success and given empowering opportunities.
Along with Sally, Alana and Phil Carmichael manage the Pines. Also on staff is Linda Wade and Pastor France. Together with the Mammas, their staff has become parents to these children, serving as role models each in their own way. The staff of about nine also makes it possible to give the children one-on-one attention at various times. But is also means that discipline in the upbringing is ensured. Like many foster care situations, the kids entering the Pines already carry the heavy weight of life already lived. Yet they are greeted with loving discipline and affection rooted in grace.
Talk to any of the staff, eat dinner with Sally for a night, take a walk with Alana before sundown, let Pastor France drive you around, it only takes one conversation to see how each person dearly loves the children at the Pines. And it’s not easy by any means. Yet, they understand the eternal glory attached to their daily efforts. They love the kids, it’s that simple. But also they see the greater impact those kids can make on the town of Welkom.
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I suppose that in each place of the world, God places a beacon of light that continues to fuel hope to those that He loves. In Welkom, that beacon of light stands firmly at the Pines.
