(So there is no confusion, I am in fact in India right now. Internet was lacking in South Africa, so I have several blogs to post, which I wrote last month, before I move on to the incredible things already happening here in India. I hope to have lots put up in the next few days!)
“So put on your dancing shoes! Cape Town welcomes you!”
Indeed it’s been a welcoming place here in Cape Town, South Africa. Half of our squad is located here in the city. Team Monarch and half of Team Oasis spent our first week in the community of Ocean View. In groups of 2, we were paired up with families to live with for our first week of ministry. The kids here were on a 3 week long winter break from school, so myself and 5 others assisted with a Holliday Club for the children and youth in the community, led by an organization called Living Hope.
Here’s the makeup of Ocean View. There isn’t a lot of wealth here. Drugs and alcohol run rampant. So-called fathers are absent while abuse and violence within families or amongst peers is seen as the proper way to handle most situations or problems. But the families which we all were blessed to stay with? If there is one thing they know how to do here, it’s to love and love well. Our contact Chantel told us if we didn’t want to be loved on; we were in the wrong place.
Jesse and I with our host family for the week. Chantel, her amazing parents, and cousin who visited that day.
I’ve realized that this is the first summer since elementary school that I’m not involved with some sort of summer camp program, so this is probably the closest I’ll get this year. The program hosted elementary youth in the morning and teens in the afternoon, complete with praise and worship, some storytelling, rotating activities of song and dance, arts and crafts, and games, and a meal to cap off the program.
The preschool children performing a song.
On Thursday night, we had a Parents’ Night so that all of the youth could perform for their relatives and show off everything they’ve been doing for the past 3 weeks. Considering that the word on Parents’ Night was being spread by word of mouth, I didn’t have huge expectations for a big turnout. I got a surprise though with a full house pretty much.
Crafts created by the youth for the Holliday Club!
The one issue however was the obviously lacking of any men in the audience. There were maybe 120 people there and no more than 6-8 men. That saddens me greatly. I’m sure some were working or had other commitments, but there are so many absentee fathers who were never man enough to actually take care of their own kids. Men are supposed to be leaders within the household and instead you have generations of youth growing up without a decent father figure in their life. That’s a problem. You’ve got young boys growing up and thinking that’s normal or that’s okay. Thinking that fighting, drowning yourself with alcohol, being uncommitted to a woman, or that money is the “be all end all.”
Part of the outfit that one camper created using trash bags.
That said, this first week was a great week. I met a ton of kids and young adults that do have dreams. They do believing in doing something with their life and not following in the footsteps of those before them. I’m leaving Ocean View encouraged regardless of the current state of things. There is so much pride in this community and so many people are committed to giving upcoming generations of youth all the opportunities in the world to follow their dreams and achieve things for their selves.
