In the past couple of weeks, we’ve spent a good deal of time sorting and delivering donated supplies to impoverished crèches in nearby townships. The full-time missionaries here in Kempton Park who are also residents of South Africa, Lucas and Leona Scheepers, have developed a reputation for honesty and integrity with local companies as being good sources to donate items to in knowing they’ll go to children in desperate need. Many times here in South Africa, charitable organizations are in actuality less than charitable and honest with where donations end up.
We’ve found that people with some means here do have good intentions and want to help those less fortunate, but don’t have the connections to know how to help properly. In part because of the disparate gulf of economic difference between even the middle class (let alone upper class) and lower class incomes, people with some means don’t know where to go try and help. As Christadelphians, the Scheepers have a reputable name for helping those less fortunate, so local companies are willing to go to them with donated goods, knowing they’ll end up helping those in real need. Because of our weekly work in nearby township crèches and the KINOS (Kids In Need Of Support) club within our home church itself, the Scheepers can designate children by name in vital need of donated items.
Oftentimes, the donations are given in large bulk quantity, so we’ve accomplished a great deal of sorting and categorizing items recently for divvying up to smaller crèches in Tembisa, Esselen Park, and Delmore Gardens where the clothes will be donated to young students and local orphans and the school supplies will go to use in the crèches themselves.
Megan and I standing with Gogo (means “Grandma”) at the "God Is Love” preschool in Delmore Gardens. Gogo is a short, energetic woman who is excited about, well just about everything. She has the perfect personality for a preschool teacher.
Megan and I are developing and leading a weekly Saturday Morning Bible Club at this preschool starting in mid-January for young ones in the area. It’s a small, isolated township near Boksburg.
The children at Khalihles’ Creche in Tembisa are always a joy to spend time with. We went through some bible stories with them and played some educational games to teach counting and days of the week.
As is evidenced by this photo, the children in the townships are often in desperate need of better clothing and shoes to wear.
A little boy peeks out from his home to see what we’re doing during a donation delivery in Esselen Park.
Megan and I sorting donated art supplies in Lucas and Leona Scheepers’ yard that we’ll deliver to impoverished crèches in the area.
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