At least a couple times every week, I travel to John Wesley Community Centre in the informal settlement of Etwatwa. It’s fairly easy to get to. You take the N12 for about 5 km until you get to the Etwatwa exit. As you start traveling in for the first time, the scene can be a bit daunting. You start to see far off humble shacks, then further on small brick houses. Outside of every small house is a small and thin outhouse, showing that for most of these homes, running water is not available. The scene of these small communities continues for miles and miles – intermingled with farm land, these homes stretch out as far as you can see. Welcome to South Africa, post apartheid. This country land was built specifically for blacks during the apartheid era. Everyone that was moved here originally was uprooted from their homes, forced to live separated from the rest of society – only because of the color of their skin.
This scene is not new to me, but the experience of working in the informal settlement of Etwatwa is very new since my time in Benoni. On my first trip there, Fran (the head of mission and outreach) said something as we were driving in that I will not soon forget: “I can’t explain why (this place) makes me so happy, but it does. I think it’s because I see more of God in places like this than I do in town.” And she’s right; I have seen God in one small and beautiful community, the community at John Wesley Community Centre.
John Wesley Community Centre (JWCC), which is a project under Northfield Methodist Church, is truly a stunning and brilliant place. JWCC serves people of all ages throughout Etwatwa, its main goal to serve those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. The programs on campus consist of a pre-school, afterschool care, home-based care, HIV/AIDS support groups, and trainings on anything you can imagine (not really, but many things). And there’s so much more in each of these programs. For instance, there’s a shop called “Tukka” (meaning “in the past”) where two young people have started a printing business for bags and t-shirts. They also create jewelry and hold training classes on printing. There’s an older man (86 years old – no joke) that has trained a couple guys in cement block building where they also have a business there. And then there’s the sewing building on campus where a young women has worked to train men and women in sewing, and they have just started their own business at JWCC as well. The preschool and afterschool program offers wonderful opportunities for young people in dancing, competitive gymnastics, reading, and even marimba playing!
A little over a week ago I had the opportunity to be a special guest at the JWCC preschool graduation. I watched with joy as I saw about a dozen kids sit at the front of an audience of parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, teachers, and other supporters ready to graduate on to primary school. They sang the national anthem and Joy to the World. They recited bible verses, poems, days of the week, months of the year, and the alphabet. They danced, performed gymnastic routines, and played songs on marimbas. These kids did so much more than I ever did in preschool! And the opportunity this gives them at such a young age, to take joy in being a child and learning. I don’t think it’s an opportunity they parents would have dreamed. And who would have though such opportunities could come from a preschool, an afterschool program, or a community centre?
Our God is a God of possibilities.
-
- Hi Mom!
-
- Cool Moves
-
- Beautiful Beats
