The Seed of Hope Staff

     
    From our first introduction to the staff on Monday February 12, I felt the joy in their eyes as they opened every morning meeting with songs of praise. What a glorious way to start the day. Our team also contributed a daily devotional. The prayers are always out loud and in unison. The songs are sung with much feeling and awesome harmony. We were able to invite a group of four staff to the Richardson's place where we are staying every day and have a great interaction during supper. This way we got to know some of their personal stories in a comfortable setting.

  We are all encouraged by all that God is doing here through the dedicated and compassionate staff. A lot has changed and continues to change here in South Africa. They are all trusting God's direction and guidance, and the results are certainly more amazing then what we could envision.

   Nico van Dyl

Thoughts from Don

Children are the same all over the world. They like to tease and play.

(Don visited a primary school on Thursday)

These kids always seems to have a smile on their face.
In the classroom they do seem more eager to help the teacher.
They also seem more willing to try to read in front of the others.
They are quick to share a friendly greeting whenever you pass by them on the street.

It's also been great to have dinner with the staff of Seed of Hope.
It's provided an excellent opportunity to get to know them, and appreciate their lives outside of their work. We've had a lot of fun and learned so much from these evenings.
Their questions for us also allowed us to share some of our lives with them as well.

Thanks for allowing us to come and see this beautiful country!

Don (and scribe)

Upward Shoutout from SA

One of the sacrifices made to be on this trip, was knowing that two weeks of the Upward Basketball season at the SEMC would be missed. Last year, it was a privilege to assist Aynsley as she coached a team. This year,  head-coaching The Chargers, a wonderful group of Grade 2 and 3 students has provided great fun and laughter, while we learn some basketball.

Aynsley and I had the chance to do some painting in the morning and then we were scheduled to go to the highschool in the afternoon. However before that second part happened, we played with some of the younger school children. Because of the safety and care and the content of the instruction the children receive at Seed of Hope the children come after their regular school day, to do another hour of learning...but after they play. 

Please remember to pray for these kids, many of them grow up without a stable father figure. Which results in this province having a the fasting rising HIV infection rate in South Africa among girls 15-24. It also has significant negative results on the boys as they grow older. The investment of Seed of Hope into children and their families reminds me of why we do Upward, why every long Saturday is worth it, why every child that get's their name announced by Albert, is so meaningful, why all the effort that Theresa puts into coordinating teams, players, coaches and volunteers is so valuable and why we need to continue to share our stories with those who come to the games...because in doing so we are not just reaching children, but their families. Changed families change communities...Jesus bring the change...

Deve

Listen, Learn and Serve

For those who have followed along with us, through our first trip and now into our second, it can be difficult to understand what we mean when we say that we are in South Africa to listen, learn and serve. It's not the response that is generally satisfying to those who ask: "What are you going to do?"

While this second visit also includes the fourth component of help, the renovation of two rooms that will expand program space, the first three are still our main priorities. The question has been asked of our team: "Do you see any difference at Seed of Hope compared to your last visit in 2014?"  The answer has been, in short: "Absolutely!"

From what we can tell, so much of it is very positive. Over the course of the last year, the paid staff of Seed of Hope has been reduced from 26 people to 14 people - for a variety of reasons, all within the sovereignty of God. Navigating this new course has not been easy, but it is exciting and you can feel the enthusiasm from everyone on the team.

In return we also have asked of the staff: "What makes you excited about the future for Seed of Hope?"

As we've been listening, here's a paraphrase of a sentence that is written in my notes, from three different people, in three separate conversations: "Our vision and/or purpose remains the same, however our strategy and programs are changing."  Over the course of the last couple of years, in anticipation of some of the staffing changes, there has been a renewed effort to listen to community and the key stakeholders (the staff and volunteers). Much time in prayer and discussion has been invested. Additionally, the encouragement to dream about the future, about what could be possible is infusing hope. Out of this listening there has been a re-birth of programming that seeks to meet the needs of whole families, from the youngest to the oldest. Biblical principles are taught throughout each phase and program. Each program is being led through the giftedness and passion of individuals who come from this community, have a growing relationship with Jesus and care deeply about what happens in this community.

As we listen, we learn. As we listen and learn, we communicate value and worth to those we meet and we gain understanding as to how God is at work here. And if God is at work here, in this way, then perhaps, there are some things that we can learn to be applied at home in Canada. As a result of our listening and learning we are invited to serve alongside them, knowing that together we are being led by God into a sustainable future for this community: a future where, from young to old, they are being honoured, encouraged and equipped to make their lives even better.

Deve

What Are We Doing?

Sanibona! (Hello everyone!)

What a joy these past two days have been! First, to be reunited with all the staff at Seed of Hope - well, let me tell you how wonderful it felt to be greeted as friends, with warm hugs and even warmer smiles.  It was truly like coming home to family.  We met new staff members and interns as well, beginning new friendships which I'm sure will continue to cross borders, continents, oceans and cultures.

As Aynsley explained in her post, we are continuing to learn about how the approach to community development and poverty alleviation is growing and evolving here, and with that, our thoughts turn to our own community at home.  The concept of growing deeper before going further is solid truth, and that focusing on the restoration of individuals can result in restored communities.

We are observing the way these principles are being taught and demonstrated here in Bhekulwandle.  For example, there are new programs where various life skills are being taught- including sewing, computer training, fundamentals of business, workplace readiness, etc.  Seed of Hope has seen an increase in the number of adult participants in these sessions.  People are being taught these skills so that they can not only improve the quality of their own lives, but that they can then take what they have learned and teach it to others in the community.

When we understand our value as uniquely created, beloved children of a loving Father God (UBaba) then we can be confident in applying ourselves to whatever opportunities present themselves in our lives.  We can also share these truths with others, helping them to recognize their unique gifts and value. Momentum builds and communities are transformed!

This is why we are here.  Yes, we are painting rooms and supplying materials to help improve the buildings, and these are good things.  But more importantly, our role here is to help affirm and encourage these folks to stay the course.  To learn all we can about how they are teaching people how to become restored individuals through a restored relationship with God, and then to bring what we have learned home.  Together, we can grow deeper and then go further.

Thanks to our friends and families who are praying us through this process...we are excited to share with you more about what we are learning!

Angela

A Day in South Africa (according to our team)

Last night (Monday) - we enjoyed dinner with four of the staff from Seed of Hope. This provided a great way for us to connect on a more personal level to grow in our mutual understanding of each other. We'll be doing this again later in the week.


7:15am - Breakfast - always yummy (all our meals are prepared with great care and hospitality by our peace-giving hosts Cam and Cherie Richardson.

8:30am Staff meeting with Seed of Hope Staff - starts with singing a praise song to God; followed by a devotion (today Deve led that - 2 Samuel 5:17-25).

Morning meeting with the Go-go (grandmas) support group. Heather and Angela attended this meeting. While they were there they heard the disturbing story of one lady who worked as a domestic (housekeeper) for a White family in the days of Apartheid.  She told them, in part, how she used to cook, clean and look after their children, but she wasn't allowed to use the same dishes to eat on, as they did because she was black. She told them, in part, that when her boyfriend came around to visit her, because he didn't have a 'pass card' her family called the police and they arrested him.  Those parts are disturbing enough...

Meanwhile, the rest of us started in on our renovation project of prepping and painting two rooms. Les is the point person on this project and is doing an awesome job leading us. It is also helpful that everyone painting keeps reminding themselves: "Would Art Cotton approve of our work?" (You've trained us well Art...hope things go well with your painting project on Friday).

Lunch - we make sandwiches, enjoy a glass of juice and an apple, with groceries we've purchased from the local grocery store, Checkers.

After school workshops for  primary school children: baking, sewing, gardening, computers, reading. The children arrive from school just after 2pm, and play. Then they rotate through each workshop by grade level, from 3pm to 4pm.

Today Angela and Julia helped in the baking workshop with the Gr. 7 & 8.

Nico and Heather (after she helped with the painting on the bottom half of the walls) helped in the computer workshop with the Gr. 7 & 8.
Les and Don helped with the gardening workshop with the Gr. 5 & 6.

Aynsley read books and did writing with the Gr. 1 & 2.

Deve stayed and finished up the painting project (top half of the walls) for the day.

With a clear sky and little wind we went for a short walk along the Indian Ocean...just a couple of kilometres from where we are...

Back to our home (that's what it feels like) in time to get refreshed for dinner at 7pm, debrief the day, laughter, reminders for tomorrow (not necessarily in that order), and then everyone heads their separate ways just before 9pm.

Other thoughts:

"Kids are all the same no matter where they are in the world: quiet shy ones, outspoken ones and mischievous. They're all the here in South Africa. I got to read to them yesterday and bake cookies with them today." - Julia

"There's more than one way to get home. Even if you see a road that you know goes to where you want to end up, there's always another way to get there." - Nico (backseat passenger)

"You're never lost. You're always on an adventure." - Deve (navigator)

"-------" - Angela (driver)

"Great to be here in South Africa and meet the people we've been praying for. It's nice to get to work and help build up the Church. God is at work." - Don

The Best that We Can

The terms “sustainability” and “holism” are two of many that have been recurring in my studies since September. I have seen these and so many others come to life thus far in my time here in South Africa. In my schooling, I have been taught about all of the various aspects that sustainability and holism include: long term relationships, access to social services, honest government, free markets, etc. The importance of cultural awareness has also been engrained in my mind. Culture is not bounded. It is fluid, changing, and malleable. There is constant overlap and evolvement within culture. As a result, development will never happen without listening and learning. 

This morning during our orientation at the centre, Kierra, the CEO, said something that provided new perspective for me. At the Seed of Hope centre, a sustainable, holistic approach   includes a relationship with God as the foundation. So, while culture may be constantly changing, God is unchanging. That is what brings individuals and community together. We are called to go deeper before we go further.  

This afternoon I went to a local high school alongside some of the interns from Seed of Hope. We had the opportunity to meet with the headmaster. He shared that the pass rate had increased from 20% - 55% since he had taken the role of headmaster in 2016. Of that 55%, however, only 4 students scored high enough to attend university. That’s less than 1% of the school. It is important to note that he was hopeful for the future. He proudly stated, “We are doing the best we can with the little we have.” Education is such a privilege. I find that this is so often forgotten in Canada.  The disregard for the privilege that education has always frustrated me.  It has grown even more since going to university, where the list of expenses is never ending. The amount of times I sit in a half empty lecture hall blows my mind. In this school that I visited in South Africa, there are kids crowded into classrooms under a broken roof, who will never get the opportunities that we are blessed with as a result of a broken system. Imagine if we all started doing the best we could with ALL that we have.

Aynsley