South Africa partnership has ties that bind

By Tony W. Cartledge

BR Editor

Bonds built through common labor grow deep, and they do not break easily. A five-year partnership between the Baptist State Convention and the Baptist Union of South Africa came to an end in 2001, but some N.C. Baptists feel no release from their sense of calling to that country.

Becky and Stanley Young of Pittsboro are two of those people. Greg and Hannah Poe of Morganton are two others. Their calling is to the children.

South Africa is awash with children who have no home. Some are abandoned because their parents are ill or dying with AIDS, which ravages the population. Others are pushed into the street by parents who have more children than they can feed, and assume the older children have a better chance of surviving.

"Love in Action"

Many children live - or die - on the streets, scrounging in garbage dumps for food and clothing. Others are more fortunate. If they live in or about the northern town of Mabopane (Ma-bo-PA-nee), there is a good chance that someone may direct them to pastor Reuben Mamatsinya, who provides food, shelter and training for more than 50 older boys; or to Mary Lwate, who cares for 170 girls and younger boys in a three-bedroom house with an attached shed.

Mamatsinya, a former child of the streets, has a strong entrepreneurial streak. He and his wife care for older boys and young men in a converted warehouse that contains sleeping bunks, offices, a print shop, a day care center, a dressmaking school and a computer classroom/Internet cafe. The building, donated by a local businessman, is also home to Mabopane Central Baptist Church, where Mamatsinya is pastor. During a recent visit to North Carolina, Mamatsinya described his mission and his hopes for the boys in his care. Despite long hours and much travail, Mamatsinya receives no salary for his work: "We eat what the boys eat," he said.

The program for boys up to 17 years old is called "Love in Action." For young men aged 18-21, Mamatsinya has developed "Empowerment Ministry," a training program designed to help the older boys to become mature men as well as to develop job skills ranging from organic gardening to computer science.

Recently, a helper with the Love in Action ministry was involved in an automobile accident while transporting several boys. Constance Tema and two of the boys were killed. Another boy, Tuloni, was severely injured. Mamatsinya and his coworkers are struggling to cope with the tragedy.

"Good Hope Community"

Mary Lwate raised a daughter of her own before taking in four orphans in 1975. Her compassionate efforts began to snowball as dying parents, social service agencies and others began delivering children into their care. Where there are hungry and hurting children involved, "Momma Mary" cannot turn them away. To support the mission that has become her life's work, she has built an organization called the "Good Hope Community."

How does one care for 170 children? Ten other women assist Lwate, some working only for food, others for very small wages. Older girls are expected to help the younger children. Once mattresses are unrolled and spread on the floor, sleeping children cover them so completely that no one can walk into the room, Lwate said. Bedtime comes at 7 p.m., because children must start rising before dawn so everyone can get ready and have something to eat before school.

In South Africa, children must pay to attend school, but the government only assists with payment for 30 of Lwate's young charges. Lwate, her helpers, and the children pitch in to sew, bake and make beadwork articles to help to cover expenses. Charitable organizations from as far away as Taiwan have contributed funds, enabling Lwate to buy a plot of land and to install a "bore hole" (well) to irrigate a large garden. She has building plans in hand to construct two dormitories and a chapel when funds become available.

Lwate also hires women to provide food and ministry to more than a dozen AIDS patients who still live in their homes but have been cut off by families who simply wait for them to die.

Lwate and Mamatsinya cooperate in a variety of ways. They teach gardening skills and raise vegetables like cabbage and corn, tomatoes and potatoes, lettuce and onions. They sponsor an active sports program whose soccer teams have names like "Hallelujah Zebra Fire," and children learn lessons for life through the discipline of sports.

The arts are also important. Lwate's girls have won three awards for singing, and a drama group was a national winner in the 2001 "Cultural Calabash."

Partnerships persist

Lwate and Mamatsinya came into contact with N.C. Baptists through a partnership with South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho that began in 1996 and officially ended in 2001. Many BSC volunteers traveled to South Africa, some of them multiple times. As friendships and needs persist, some volunteers continue to assist with mission efforts such as the Door of Hope in Johannesburg, church planting efforts throughout the region, and ministries to the orphans of Mabopane.

Greg and Hannah Poe first visited South Africa in 1999, and again in 2003. They fell in love with the people, a feeling that is undiminished five years later. They would like to serve as missionaries there, if a good opportunity becomes available.

Becky Young also has a heart for the children of Mabopane, and her family has caught the spirit. Becky first learned of the needs in South Africa from a speaker at a youth group meeting she helped to coordinate. She made solo trips to the country in 1998, 1999 and 2002. Becky's oldest daughter, Melissa, and her husband, Stanley, joined her for separate visits in 2003. The entire family plans to go along on the next trip, scheduled for the summer of 2005.

But, their commitment to the children continues while at home. Greg Poe did the legwork needed to set up the "Mabopane Foundation," a non-profit organization to support the projects that Mamatsinya and Lwate lead. He and Hannah have recruited several churches, Sunday School classes and individuals to support the work in Mabopane on a regular basis. They have encouraged Mission Friends organizations to make banks and save loose change, resulting in donations of more than $1,200.

Meanwhile, the Youngs have enlisted help from several churches in the Apex-Pittsboro area. Volunteers from Olive Chapel Baptist, Pittsboro Baptist, First Baptist of Apex, Bells Baptist and Faith Bible Fellowship help to collect donated items and run a monthly garage sale in a family-owned barn between Apex and Pittsboro. The effort has grown to include the big red barn's loft as well as the floor level, with recent sales averaging more than $1,000 each.

Reflecting on the continued support of N.C. Baptists, Mamatsinya said, "All of this is because of the partnership. Like multiplication, it is still going on, producing fruit that will remain. This is the fruit of that partnership."

During a recent visit to North Carolina, Lwate was impressed with both the beauty of the land and the standard of living. "You live in paradise," she said. "When you live in paradise, don't forget us."

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Donations to the Mabopane Foundation can be sent to 308 Brentwood Cir., Morganton, N.C., 28655; or to 24 Lonna Court, Pittsboro, N.C., 27312. To learn more about the ministries in Mabopane, visit www.mabopanefoundation.org.)