Projects South Africa A Visit to Nakekela
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A Visit to Nakekela Print E-mail
Wednesday, 11 February 2009 12:39
This would be my last day in South Africa visiting the Nakekela Care Center with Dr. Sonja Miskin, who so graciously let me tag along with her. It had rained a lot the day before and now today. People said it had been unusually rainy this season. The sky was gray and heavy with more downpours expected to saturate the red dirt even more. The roads were quieter than usual as we approached KwaNdebele, the area where Nakekela is located. Dr. Sonja commented sympathetically of the misery of the water seeping into the houses with insufficient zinc roofs and dirt floors. How much more miserable for the unfortunate ones that lie on the ground afflicted with the disease that affects every home in these communities.


On this particular day, because of the rain the patients that could be sitting or propped up were congregated in the one room where there is a heater. Their bodies are wasted with the effects of AIDS so it is hard to keep warm even on a temperate day. On sunny days the patients are sitting outside, facing a little garden. The care workers were bustling about cleaning the rooms, washing up and organizing supplies. The care center is immaculate despite the frugality of resources. Dishes are done by hand. Breakfast is simple: two slices of bread with Spam-like meat, slice of cheese and tea with milk.


I was impressed over and over again with the careworkers, Emma, Rose, Anna, Mama Cozi, Jeremiah and many others who selflessly do the most menial tasks: diapers need changing, new patients might have months of dirt to be scrubbed off, floors need to be washed, beds changed, laundry, gardening, cooking. Some workers cannot even read. Some have two jobs. Many are single moms or grandmas, most have young children they are responsible for because of the devastation of the disease. These workers do not have a healthcare plan, they don’t go on strike and they don’t get a paid vacation or pension. They started out as volunteers, but thanks to donors they now have a wage. They live in the community with the deprivations of their patients without the comforts we demand. Yet they work with joy and determination. They consistently share the gospel and counsel their patients.


The commitment of Word and Deed because of the love of Jesus at Nakekela is productive and inspiring. Nakekela is an earthly oasis in a desert where spiritual darkness has afflicted thousands of people with poverty, disease, and abuse. As the work at Nakekela grows, one can see God’s blessing at every turn. One can see that fundamentally, Nakekela depends on the Lord for its needs. The basic need is prayer for spiritual encouragement, strength, wisdom and the daily needs, for lives to be changed for a community to be a light in a very dark world.


The patients at Nakekela are in the last stages of what HIV does to people. Their immunity is as low as it can go. They are susceptible to viruses and diseases such as TB, meningitis and skin infections. Typically, family and friends have abandoned them. Here they are given a clean, soft bed. They are given medical attention. They are given food. Most of all they are given the gospel of Jesus Christ.


Not always, but many times patients are open to the gospel. Some heal, go home and share the healing with their community and neighbors. Most do not heal physically. That brings sadness to everyone, but a bittersweet joy when a patient rejoices to meet his Savior Jesus Christ. It is sobering to think that even this devastating disease can be used for good in reaching people who otherwise would not be open to the gospel.

-- Written by Connie Sikma who visited South Africa with her husband Doug and Son, David in January, 2009. They reside in Grand Rapids, MI.
 
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