Last week, I was blessed with the opportunity to meet with
the mission team from FUMC Richardson. A group of 4 teachers from FUMCR came to
South Africa and worked with a rural school, located in the province where I
live. They spent a week teaching the children and working with the other
teachers. Isn’t it great when churches partner with others? The church didn’t
only send money, the church also sent people multiple times to walk alongside
the teachers and develop relationships. I met with the team when they returned
to Pretoria, the nation’s capital, and shared stories over a nice meal. I
really loved spending some time with people from home. It was nice to hear some
Texas accents again! ;)
After dinner, I drove on to Bedfordview (a suburb of
Johannesburg), where I stayed for the next week. The mission unit at the
Methodist Church had arranged meetings for me with different organizations that
work with refugee children. The majority of my time was spent at the Central
Methodist Church in central Johannesburg. There is a lot of controversy
surrounding the CMC and it remains to be a very complex situation.
The church continued on its mission of serving the poor and
the marginalized by opening its doors when Zimbabweans started to flee from
political persecution and settle in South Africa. By 2008, Zimbabweans were
fleeing in mass numbers across the Limpopo River, the border between South
Africa and Zimbabwe, and facing treacherous conditions. With Open Hearts, Open
Minds, and (literally) Open Doors, the church began to house 1,500-2,000
Zimbabwean refugees every night. (I saw a report state that it got up to 4,000.)
The church was never set up to be a shelter, so the living conditions became
dire. People would be sleeping on every piece of floor, the pews, the stairs,
and even reaching outside of the building. Health concerns developed along with
safety and sanitation concerns. With that many people packed in so closely,
there were also reports of violence and theft with talks of rape. 2008 also
marked the beginning of violent xenophobic attacks in South Africa. Foreigners
went to the church as a place of refuge, fearing for their lives. Other
non-profit and government-operated shelters existed, however they were also at
capacity. There were no alternative locations for people to go, other than the
streets. In 2009, the South African government sued the church, in order to
remove unaccompanied minors from its premises and put them into shelters. The
children, with no family present, had become a family of their own, including
adults from the CMC, and they didn’t want to be separated. The church moved
many of the children to the Soweto Community Centre. There, they had a building
of their own, with designated care takers. The church also opened Albert Street
School to especially reach children who did not have the necessary documents to
enroll in South African public schools. Brag time. In 2012, the school had a
97% pass rate on their Cambridge International exams! Those kids are amazing! I
met with a very proud principal.
Today, the church houses about 700-800 people every night. There
are classes being held to teach people marketable job skills, such as computer
skills, sewing, embroidery, etc. An advocacy group, called Peace Action, works
out of the church and addresses human rights violations (frequently concerning
housing issues). The CMC building itself is very worn and only has one working
toilet. As I walked through the hallways and stairs, there was an ever present
smell of urine; yet I passed an older gentleman who was donating his time to
mop the floors. While in the sick room, a cockroach landed on my coworker during
a conversation with a woman who was happily caring for all of the people in the
building who were feeling ill. I asked a young man if he felt safe at the CMC
and he stated that he did, however he wouldn’t leave his backpack sitting
around. Another person said that the CMC is still safer than sleeping on the
streets. I left Johannesburg with an incredible sense of “It’s Complicated”.
May the love of God shine brightly onto all those who sometimes feel forgotten
and overlooked.
