Delft, Cape Town

After spending a full day at Orange Farm and Alexandra on Wednesday, March 5, we left Johannesburg for Cape Town.  We arrived very late and did not have much to do other than get checked-in to our hotel and try to get a good night's rest.

We started bright and early on Thursday, March 6, for a full day of activities at the Afrika Tikkun Delft Center.  We had a fantastic day.  We started with a tour of the center, meeting the general manager, Lizeka, and other staff members.  It was markedly different than the centers in Johannesburg, but the people still face many of the same challenges.  They have extremely high unemployment, and TB and HIV rates.

Lizeka and the Belron Team

Lizeka with Steve York and Randy Randolph

We toured the kitchen and met the cook staff.  They were great people that prepare over 1,500 meals a week…mostly rice, beef, pumpkin squash, cabbage, etc.  This entire week I was able to get a true understanding of just how important food is here.  Something so fundamental to survival is extremely difficult to come by.  Afrika Tikkun makes sure people in need have access to good, nutritional meals.  As in the Johannesburg centers, most of the children that come to Afrika Tikkun do not eat outside of these walls, so on nights and weekends, they go hungry.

We also met a wonderful woman that benefits from a great program Afrika Tikkun provides.  Seniors in the Delft community can come to get their meals for the day.  Most cannot find work and this is their only source food.  She was so grateful for what Afrika Tikkun provides…and loved it when I tried to take our picture.

Afrika Tikkun also runs a program for HIV+ women.  They have formed a support group that makes jewelry and scarves to raise money for their medicine and general care.  It’s an important program that supplies both moral and financial support.

After the tour, we got to work in the garden.  It was nice to do some good manual labor.  It was very hot and sunny…actually felt great compared to Columbus weather.  We planted nearly 200 onion plants, which will result in over 1,000 onions for the kitchen.

Steve York, Kartien Bex, and Jenny Gearheart

We than had an outstanding lunch in the ECD (early childhood development) center and then moved on to our afternoon activity: shredding cabbages for the kitchen.  We shredded 50 heads of cabbage, loading up two large bags that went to the freezer.

From left: Jenny Gearheart, Lizeka, Katrien Bex, Steve York

Lizeka taught me the secret technique

One of the highlights of my trip occurred when we were cleaning up after shredding cabbage.  There is a man that works for food at the Delft center.  After working his entire life, he now receives a very small government pension, but his two sons abuse him and steal his pension for drugs.  Lizeka told us he comes to the center every day to sweep and keep the grounds tidy.  In exchange he gets two meals a day.

While we were sweeping up the shredded cabbage, he saw that I had an iPhone and approached me about it.  He could hardly speak English and what he could speak was very quiet, as if he had a respiratory condition.  In a very soft voice he asked me if I had any Beatles on my iPhone.  It just so happens I love the Beatles!  We played Hard Days’ Night and She Loves You while we swept.  We tried to get him to play air guitar but I think he didn't understand the concept.  His face lit up…he was so happy.

At about 2:30 PM, the children in the ECD program get out of school and come to Afrika Tikkun to review the alphabet, counting, and do their homework, if they have anything.  We spent over an hour working with them.  It was another highlight of my day.  I met a little boy named Diego and worked with him through the ABCs and counting from 1 to 10.  We all did this for the close to 40 kids that arrived that afternoon.  We then read them a story about being selfless and helping others, even if it means embarrassing yourself.  It was great lesson.

Steve Parker teaching one of the ECD kids the alphabet.

Me and Diego

Steve York and Jenny Gearheart playing games with the kids

This nice young lady served me a cup of tea.

Katrien Bex with the kids during story time

Steve Parker during story time

We ended the day in the community center with a performance from the Afrika Tikkun dance team.  It was amazing.  These young dancers and drummers were phenomenal.  After their performance, we formed a half-circle where we each had a chance to go in the center show off our moves.  Let’s just say I hope there was no video of the Belron team dancing.

All in all, our visit to Delft was another amazing day.  They face many of the same challenges as the other Afrika Tikkun centers, but they are also very unique.  I am grateful for Lizeka and her team, and I feel blessed to have spent the day with them.