In June of 2024, I (Pastor. Russell) went on a Sabbath excursion to Cape Town South Africa in cooperation with The Ministry Collaborative. The trip was not only eye-opening, it was life changing. The dislocation forced a reorienting of priorities, thoughts, and perspectives. One of the things that emerged from that trip was a collaboration with the Sisonke Orphanage in the Langa Township. The imagery was stark: tin-roofed houses and train cars, children playing with bare feet, but with joy, the smells of goats and other food being cooked outside over an open flame, the squalor of the quarters once used to house apartheid era workers who stayed in Langa for 11-months out of the year, working for basically pennies. That was a wake up call, but in the midst of all the ostensible despair, there was a joy there that was not replicable nor detectable in the United States. Many times, here in the U.S., despair leads to desperation, which leads people to adopt a survivalist mentality. I sensed and witnessed a type of joy that could only come from the LORD!
During the trip, one of our visits was to Sisonke Orphanage, located in the Langa Township. This orphanage was literally in a shack that housed upwards of 30 people per night, mostly toddlers and pre-teens. Some of the teens who were former residents served there as mentors. The mother of the orphanage was a proud, elderly woman who commanded the respect of the children. Before we arrived, they were actually cleaning up to ensure that we saw the best possible version of the dilapidated structure. They mopped the floor, the pots, located in a corner of the structure that contained a gas burner, were washed, and the beds were made. There were a few beds, but many children, which meant that there were several people per bed when it was time to go to sleep. We were greeted in the streets by children who performed, who sang, and danced for us as a welcoming gesture.
My heart ached as I witnessed the abject poverty and the lack of opportunities to escape it. Apartheid was destructive in ways that you can only see if you visit these affected areas in person, in real-time. This wasn’t TV, this wasn’t a watered-down version of an NBC News feature, this was real life, and it was hard to see it. It forced me to not simply lament, but also to act. I took the idea back to our Session that we would make a donation. The means to do so were unclear at the time. First, we thought about how we could leverage our OCC operation and pack some shoeboxes specifically for this orphanage. However, after having a conversation with our tour guides, Shane, Theresa, and Katie, we discovered that Shane and Natasha were the founders of the SMART Foundation and decided to make a donation through them. It was seamless, and we were able to donate $1500/ R1800 to buy toys and school supplies for the children of Sisonke. They thanked us by sending videos of the packaging process and sending us a dance of thanks. The video links are below. Enjoy!
