helping where we can....

i'm not really sure where to start this post, part of me is really happy to have helped a few of our thembacare patients with some zinc (tin) sheeting for their homes but another part of me not only feels a little of the pain of those people but looks at what i have done is such an insignificant part in their lives that it's not really worth blogging about.

the reality of life in south africa is really hard for the majority of people, that's excluding the people who attempt to make a living doing the things that would seem 'normal' in europe or america which is also time consuming and hard work. the people i'm talking about those 'previously disadvantaged' under the apartheid years who have come to seek employment, or better job opportunities in grabouw or the wider western cape or those who have lived in grabouw for many years but have never received the education to enable them to provide the 'over and above' for their families.

what we in 'the west' take for granted is only a luxury for millions of people who live in this rainbow nation, running water, electricity and a roof over your head would seem to be the basics of 'normal life' however today i was able to bless a few of our thembacare patients, who had been highlighted as those in most need, with a few sheets of tin to provide some extra against the winter rains which are raging around us at the moment.

the pictures show a few people who have benifited from a few tin sheets, all of them thanked me for taking the time to deliver or hammer in the nails which will provide some comfort tonight, but in reality it was such a small token of what they really need to make a significant difference in their daily lives.

my heart aches with the injustice that i see, not only in this country but throughout the world as the rich seem to get richer, although they would challenge me on that one given the current economic situation, and the poor and needy seem to get poorer.

my question is 'what more can i do?', Jesus calls me to go the extra mile, to love my neighbour, who at the minute live in tin shacks, as i love myself. as a charity the thembalitsha foundation seek to provide hope through education, health and training, we don't provide hand outs but sometimes one needs to put that aside and get ones hands dirty and that's what i hope to have done this morning with those who most needed my help..........