Youth trained as leaders
13 – 15 JUNE 2016 – LITSEMBA CENTRE, DAANTJIE
Mamkhulu.org runs psychosocial support camps twice a year for orphans and vulnerable children around Mpumalanga. The children are selected from Hope Clubs at the various schools where we work. These children are chosen on the basis of great need, either emotional or physical, and through a week long camp, they are encouraged in their spiritual walk with the Lord, given a chance to share their problems, have a good time and develop new skills.
The youth who run the programmes come from the communities around these schools and they come from similar backgrounds. From 13 – 15 June, 2016, Mamkhulu.org staff trained 16 youth on various issues related to orphans and how to counsel and assist them at camp and when they return home. The goal of the training was also to deal with any issues that the youth themselves are having so that when they get to camp and hear the stories of the children, they can better understand and walk with the kids. Many of our youth team have no parents themselves, so relating to a child who is dealing with grief and loss is painful if they have not worked through their own problems.
One such young man is George *. He was orphaned at 11 years of age, and taken from relative to relative over many years. He was used as a slave in the various households where he stayed, not allowed to attend school some years or have friends outside the house. Social services found him when he was 15 years old, and returned him to his family home but there were no adults in the house and he was forced to find food for himself and his younger brother. The teachers at a local high school sent him to one of our camps, where he found Jesus, acceptance and love. He also found a youth leader who provided him with food, although she lived 10 kms away and he had to walk there to get help. He also got support and care from her, through Mamkhulu.org. Over the past 2 years, George has lost his family home to greedy relatives who sold it to get money, and he and his brother have been homeless again. Mamkhulu.org arranged a safe place for George to stay, and his brother went to live with an aunt. George now assists the organization to run camps, oversee children who come for help to the Litsemba Centre, and is working to become a pastor. He is deeply into the Word, attends church faithfully, and is praying for a breakthrough in his life. Mamkhulu.org provides him with a small stipend for food and personal necessities and he has a safe place to live. What is so amazing about George is his passion for God and his love for other children who are living in circumstances similar to those in which he grew up. His witness to them is real and profound.
