News update from Joan Adams - July2009


27-07-2009

Dear Friends of Morning Star

What a struggle it is to find time to sit down and start my next newsletter to you all! I had in mind to do it during the first week of July, when our 2 Centres closed for a short break, but it wasn’t to be. And, since then, we’ve been short-staffed and, more often than not, short-vehicled too… causing all kinds of unexpected challenges not bargained for!

All-in-all 9 overseas volunteers have spent time at Morning Star over the past 2 months – really opportune in the light of the staff shortages we’ve had. Joel & Clare Daubney from Sheffield spent 7 weeks with us whilst the rest – all girls but one – have come for shorter periods in between. The last of this batch of `summer` (UK) volunteers is Robert Dale who arrived on the 24th July and is set to spend 3-4 weeks in Welkom. It’s been such fun getting to know these delightful young people, sharing with them in our home and observing them forge relationships with one another.

Within a day of each other, both Gladys, one of Morning Star’s cleaners, and Liza Mans, our assistant bookkeeper (whom you met when the 2 of us were over in England recently) had bad falls. Gladys fell off a ladder at Morning Star whilst cleaning windows and severely injured her knee and Liza tripped over a protruding brick in a parking lot in town, which resulted in her falling flat on her face on to the tarmac, with her husband, Ian, standing helplessly by. Liza’s fall turned out to be a freak accident! She’d had her mobile phone in her front trouser pocket and, when she hit the ground, this apparently caused her large bowel to rupture. Of course, the extent of her injury was undetected at first and, only later that day, when Ian insisted she be seen by a doctor and x-rayed, was the real damage ascertained. She underwent emergency surgery that very night and was told she would’ve been dead within 24 hours if she’d not been operated upon.

With both ladies off work at the same we were blessed, indeed, to have had Clare Daubney (her husband, Joel, has been at our local Bongani Hospital doing his medical elective these past 7 weeks) around to take control of Morning Star’s petty cash and other of Liza’s duties. What a blessing she’s been and how well she’s fitted into the team here. (I wish we could keep you here forever, Clare!) Gladys and Liza are back at work now but Liza still has to take things very much slower. We’re all very conscious that we nearly lost her!

Our growing fleet of vehicles and their individual requirements has become quite a headache for Elizabeth, our Operations Manager. There’s always one in need of servicing, re-licensing or having to undergo a roadworthy test. Our 2 older mini-buses are repeatedly breaking down too. If it’s not Thibello’s in Kutlwanong then it’s Chris’ in Thabong! ‘Towing-in’ has become the norm as have drivers coping with an additional load of children in a day’s work. (The last time Thibello’s minibus was towed into Welkom – after, seemingly, not being able to start one cold and frosty morning, it was discovered that it just didn’t have any petrol! We couldn’t believe it!!)
Elizabeth, however, is doing an excellent job juggling the drivers and their loads around so that each child gets to Morning Star in the mornings and back home at night. Fortunately, the children know nothing of the efforts to get them to and fro. As long as they’re collected and brought to their beloved Morning Star, they’re as happy as can be!

In the midst of our spate of volunteers in Welkom, our quarterly Teens Function took place. Happily, we could leave the planning of the whole entertainment program in our visitors’ capable hands and what fun they had discussing what to do and then implementing their good ideas. Joel Daubney brought a relevant passage of Scripture to life for them (quite stunned he was, at first, to have it translated into Sotho as he went along) and, following on from this, Mpho Mokhuoa from the Department of Education spoke to them on effective studying methods and the importance of doing well in their examinations. Thereafter, a small group of our teens came forward and, in addition to giving God glory for their improved health, encouraged their peers to live positively with their conditions, to take their treatment as prescribed and to abstain from sex before marriage. I was moved to the core and so very proud of them. After-all, this is what our ministry at Morning Star is all about in the end, isn’t it - seeing our little children growing up into morally upright young adults. Our ultimate desire for all those who pass through our doors is for them to break free from the cycle of promiscuity, poverty and irresponsibility of their parents and to come to a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And, to hear our teens expressing themselves so openly and positively was immensely encouraging to me, personally, and gave me reason to hope for great things in the future.

The next exciting event, also shared by our UK volunteers, was our Grade 1 & 2’s trip to Bloemfontein Zoo. This took place on 13th July and, for all the children who went, was a first visit to a zoo and opportunity to see the animals in real life! They saw 2 rhino, 1 elephant, tigers, lions, cheetahs, zebra and hippos and returned home with a new understanding of the difference between an elephant & a cow and zebra & a horse! Teacher Selina says her little ones are still a bit unsure of the difference between a rhino and a hippo, though. (A timely reminder once again of how much we take for granted)!

Our Grade 0’s – both the Welkom & Kutlwanong classes – are off to the zoo tomorrow, 28th July, Lord willing.

On a sad note, one of newest babies, 17-month-old Kelebogile Mile, died in the early hours of last Sunday morning, 19th July. He had a tragic history. He came from Hani Park squatter camp where he lived in a tiny tin shack with his terminally ill mum. Sadly, she passed away in March this year and, because none of his extended family members wanted him, his mum’s former next-door neighbour offered to take care of him herself. But she was jobless and penniless too and was begging food off the street to survive. A good Samaritan kindly brought her to Morning Star and when we saw the wasted state of Kelebogile’s little body – he couldn’t even sit, let alone crawl or walk – we admitted him immediately. Then, last Friday he wouldn’t eat at all and his guardian reported that over the weekend he complained of a persistent pain in his side. She dosed him with panado syrup before she went to sleep on Saturday night, but when she awoke at 1.30am Sunday morning, to check on him, she found that he was dead beside her. What does a penniless woman do with a corpse in her home on a Sunday morning? She decided to walk to the home of one of Morning Star’s staff members in Thabong and seek advice.
And, thus began a whole string of events! Staff members, Mamosa, phoned me at 10.00am with the news of Kele’s death. I then tried to get hold of the funeral undertaker we deal with, but he didn’t answer his phone (Sunday, of course). Next to have his Sunday morning interrupted – whilst in church – was our driver, Sam, who willingly agreed to collect the corpse in Hani Park and take it to our local hospital. I was under the impression that the hospital would be obliged to accommodate a case like this in their mortuary until other arrangements could be made. But, they refused. By midday no solution to the dilemma had been found yet and, the only recourse left to me was to keep the little body at my own home until Monday morning.
Kelebogile’s corpse lay in the back room of our house for the following 18 hours and its presence there affected each of us – UK volunteers included – in a different way. Ron couldn’t sleep for thinking about him. His little face was so beautiful, so peaceful in death; free of pain and hunger at last! But, to think that he died unloved, not special to anybody and with no one to mourn him or miss him, was devastating, to say the least! His extended family members didn’t even bother to come to his funeral. He was buried in the Bronville Cemetery on 23rd July.

The other troubling case being investigated at the moment is the home situation of our Wandile Nangu and his 8-year-old brother, Bonakele. We’ve long suspected that both little boys have been neglected and, if not physically, then emotionally abused and starved. The matter resurfaced a week or two ago when it was reported that the boys were sleeping in a separate shack to the rest of the extended family. Of course, the grandmother and aunt are denying this. Right now we have Bonakele at our Welkom Centre too – having agreed to accommodate him in our little school until the end of 2009 even though he’s not infected with HIV/AIDS. It’s just easier to assess him and reach out to him (and Wandile) if we have constant access to them both. Bonakele, although HIV negative, is the size of a 5 year-old, grossly underweight, doesn’t talk much, is not going to school and, according to his aunt, doesn’t know how to play. She also complains that he has defecated in his pants every night since his birth! We’re seeing a different side at Morning Star, though; including the fact that he’s absolutely starving and is given very little to eat at home! Yesterday he had 3 plates of porridge – one after the other – upon arrival at Morning Star and reported that he’d been given no breakfast nor dinner the night before!

Just a few issues before I close:

 

In conclusion, Titus 2: 7-8 says “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching, show integrity, dignity and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us”.
The above words tie up very well with the following catchy phrase: “Your walk talks and your talk talks but your talk talks louder than your walk talks.”

Yours in Christ
Joan

PRAYER NEEDS:

 

 

- back to News -