Back to Work

So the holiday is well over, and I am back to work. I feel so blessed to be able to do work that I don’t dread after a holiday. I was ready to get back in the groove of things. Justice ACTs is still going strong with lots of trainings and presentations.

 

I was actually at a meeting the other day, and a worker from a local NGO approached me to talk about a refugee from Rwanda I had previously met during a Traffick Proof presentation. I knew that this refugee had lost her son. It is a very confusing story of how the husband took the son from her while in Rwanda and paid a family to watch after him and raise him as a Muslim. When the father stopped sending money to the family, they mistreated him. What I didn’t know and was then being told was that the boy finally ran away from this family and found someone who was willing to call his mother in South Africa. She was so ecstatic when she found out he was safe. Desperate to get her son back, she was about to put her son on a bus with a local “business man” who was willing to bring her son to her in South Africa! Wow! I can’t know for sure, but any business man in Rwanda who is volunteering to transport a child is more than likely a trafficker. I am so glad this refugee had people around her that knew this was not a good situation. This little boy could have easily been a victim of human trafficking if they had put him on that bus with a man that none of them knew. And most of the time, people are trafficked because they are desperate and don’t think to ask questions. This lady was desperate to get her son back; she didn’t stop to think or care about who this “business man” was. This is what we are trying to teach and prevent. Anyway, last I heard, they found a safe place for the boy to stay temporarily until his mother was able to make it back to Rwanda.

 

This past Friday I was teaching Traffick Proof at a local township high school. The kids were more unruly than usual. Despite that, there were a few girls who had some very interesting stories were they were nearly trafficked. One young girl was walking with some friends and decided to get a ride to where they were going, which is not uncommon in Africa. The man locked the doors and started saying some inappropriate things to them. He offered to take them to downtown Cape Town. The girls got scared and one of them pretended to call the police. The man then let them out of the car. They went to the police station to file a report and found out that this same guy has been kidnapping girls and taking them to tourist spots in Cape Town and selling them there. These girls were very lucky they were not trafficked and sold. A couple of other girls had similar stories. These kids are so vulnerable, and I can only hope that the prevention tips we give them will be remembered and keep them safe from these predators.

 

The girl’s Bible Study is going well. I just love my girls so much. They love to talk to me about typical teenage girl things. They are incredibly low maintenance at the same time. It usually takes much longer to get to the level of comfort that we are at as a group. I am so impressed with them, and can see them leading their own Bible Study’s soon. That is the point of what we are doing in Masiphumelele. It may take generations, but hopefully we will get to the point of raising up enough Christian leaders that we have worked ourselves out of a job. I am very sad though, as one of my girls had to move to another township that is pretty far away. She came home on Thursday to find her stuff packed up and sitting outside of her shack. Her mother had been telling her to go and find her biological father. They had argued about this often, and the mother finally kicked her out. The poor young girl had no choice but to move to another township where she has other relatives. I am so sad about this as she is such a good kid. Many of the kids just sleep around and drink all weekend long, but Bongoza is well behaved and very focused on her school work. I don’t know how, but I am going to try and find her another place to live or family to live with in Masiphumelele. I just picture her being so lonely and sad in this new place knowing that her mother just does not want her around. I can’t bare it.

 

Well that is it for now. I am in my new place and loving it! I just love being in a real house. I even have a heater right next to my bed. It is fall here now and it has gotten a bit colder. Unfortunately the new house does not have wireless internet, so it may take me a while to get back with you, but please do not let this deter you from writing me! I get so excited when I see your responses in my inbox!