Re a Kgona

Recently I have started volunteering at another organization in Turfloop known as Re A Kgona (translated as We Can) for added exposure to different experiences in this area. The centre, run out of the house of a now deceased lady who started by feeding children on the streets out of her garage, has expanded exponentially and is now home to a crèche, nursery, and a drop-in centre for the orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) of Turfloop.

The other day while volunteering, I accompanied two ladies who run the centre for home visits to the guardians of OVC’s which we serve. It was a surprisingly warm day for mid-April, and the hot sun beat down on us for our long journey- Re A Kgona covers orphans from a large area so we had to walk quite a distance to visit a few.

Our first destination was a lady who watches over 12 children- some orphans, some her own. A few years back her younger sister was killed by her husband who then killed himself, leaving their children orphaned. Her younger brother also died leaving children behind and she, being the only female sibling left (and females typically are responsible for the care of children in this culture), became responsible for 12 children in total. Imagine taking care of a dozen children who are emotionally traumatized by their parent’s tragic deaths, all the while trying to grieve and come to peace with the situation yourself. It leads to much stress on the part of the care taker, which in turn puts stress on the children, and the situation ends up being quite a mess. What shocked me the most about our visit with this lady was when she mentioned what disturbed her most- the social worker. She said that the social worker would come by and check on the children to make sure they are happy and healthy and in a good, supportive environment, but they would not once ask her how she was doing. She said it was as if they did not care about her, but there are two sides to caring for orphans in this world, the orphan and the caregiver. She needs to be remembered and aided for her psychological well-being just as much as those children.

Next we visited a young lady who takes care of two orphans. During her visit she expressed her concern with their attitudes- they refuse to help out around the house, to listen or respect her, and they have even beaten her on occasion. Being as young as she is, she is already very sick, and she can not deal with the constant struggles with them. She is thankful for the drop-in centre which provides them with food daily, and relieves some of her stress as they spend time there instead of causing trouble at home. She is trying to do well, but the children will not accept her as a mother figure as they are still trying to grieve and accept the loss of their own mother.

Finally we make our way to the other side of Turf for a very different experience- we visited a child headed family. The mother passed away in 2005, and since that moment a young girl became responsible for her five younger siblings. In 2006 they were introduced to Re A Kgona who helped them receive a foster grant, and now the younger siblings are able to receive school uniforms and food from the centre daily, which was the saving grace for this family. The second youngest sibling described to me why Re A Kgona made such a difference to them- she said in 2005 the family was struggling. No head of the family meant no money and no food, so even though they pushed their younger siblings to stay in school, they were struggling to do well with the hunger in their stomachs. But as soon as they started attending the Drop-In Centre, there was an immediate turn around in their schooling- she said they became BRIGHT as they could now focus on school instead of the pain in their stomach. Even though the older child was forced at a young age to make many sacrifices to keep her family together, she has done an amazing job, as the siblings remain close knit and very willing to help each other. The responsibilities of the household are shared, and there is an overabundance of respect and love given to and from each one of them.

On our way back to the centre we were stopped by an old lady who needed help opening her gate. We kindly stopped to help her, and she started to ask us who we were. We mentioned that we were working at Re A Kgona, a Drop-In centre in Turfloop, and she asked if we took care of children with disabilities as well. Well no, currently we only take care of OVC’s, and even with them we have our hands full. She asked us to come across the street with her to see her grand-daughter who is disabled and with whom she could use a lot of help. We sidetracked to her house, and were brought inside the living room where a small girl was sitting in a full reclining wheelchair. Her hands and feet were twisted and distorted securing her to forever remain in this wheelchair, and she could not speak, but as soon as I entered the room a huge smile came across her face and she started waving and wailing- a white person is visiting! I sat beside her as her grandmother explained how she had to pay for a full time babysitter for the child as she was no longer capable to taking care of her, and she needed help and funding to continue the support for this 22 year old girl. 22? She did not look more than 12, it is amazing how much this world can age you, but if you are confined in doors and wheelchair bound, I guess the ageing caused by sun and stress and all the things of this world would not hit you as much… She is my age. I sat beside her and smiled, and if I looked away for only a second she would scream until I returned my gaze onto her youthful looking face. As we left I was told that there is not a single organization in Turfloop that cares for the disabled, but there is obviously a high need. Out of the hundreds and thousands of organizations in this country which are caring for the high percentage of orphans, not many remember the others in need out there, the disabled. The bible constantly mentions that we should care for the orphans and widows, but once again the disabled are forgotten as they so frequently are in society. This experience helped me to remember their needs as well, instead of simply focusing on the obviously tragic needs of the orphans.

As we returned to the Drop-In Centre, our bodies were tired, we were thirsty and hungry, but we had a great day. In fact, we had a day which refounded us in the necessity of the work which we are doing and inspired us to continue to expand and do better. As the school let out, the OVC’s came by for their afternoon meal, but before they participated in traditional song and dance outside of the garage. I watched as they danced away all the stresses and struggles of this world which they should be feeling, until all that was left was bright smiles on shining faces, ready and thankful for the food and clothing which we were about to give them. Even those from the community who passed by the house would stop and smile as they saw this going on- we are making a difference.

~Heather Anne Nelson