PAUL MSIZA from the

President

The Story of HOPE

My recent visit to a refugee center in Berlin, Germany, reminded me of my childhood. As a child I used to travel with my late mom to visit my grandmother in a very rural area called Winterveldt. This was during the dark days of apartheid in South Africa. During those years, areas zoned for native South Africans were not developed at all. Such areas used to be under the Department of Bantu Administration and Development. The government did not provide those areas with electricity, water and basic facilities like schools and clinics. The local communities had to put up school buildings and clinics and the administration only provided the salaries for staff and other resources needed in those institutions. This place, where my late grandparents owned a small farm, was one of the most underdeveloped areas. There were no paved roads or streetlights and only a few boreholes. The only means of public transport was by bus. Most people had to walk more than a kilometer from bus stops to their homes. The distance from my grandparents home to the bus stop was almost two kilometers. The worst part was that only a few busses were allocated to these areas per day.

There were days when we were on the last bus to Winterveldt

and that meant arriving at night. We had to walk in the dark for more than a kilometer on an uneven, dusty path. I still have flashbacks to when I would walk with my mom in the dark and you could not even see your hand. It was very scary for a little child. The only thing I did was hold on to my mom’s hand as we walked slowly in the dark. It would be quiet after the last bus left and the only sound were our footsteps as we shuffled on the path. The other sound was of dogs barking or jackals howling. But once we arrived at my grandparents’ home I forgot all about the long bus trip and the long walk in the dark. The excitement to meet my granny, my aunts, my uncles and my cousins would bring so much joy and happiness. I would know that we were home and safe. The moment of intense fear of walking in the darkness and not seeing where you were going and hearing sounds of jackals howling were gone.

This was what I witnessed at the refugee center I visited. The administrator took us around to show us the place. There was a special place she saved for the end of our tour and this was the children’s place. We saw little boys and girls playing with toys and running around; it looked so normal. One of the volunteer social workers, Esther Dichristin, a member of the Baptist union in Germany, shared with me about her experience at the center. She served when the center had just opened to refugees. Her first day was traumatic because of the conditions of both adults and children. The people who arrived were hungry, dirty and looked ill. The children were traumatized and scared. They grabbed anything they could find. Caregivers had to keep their valuables in safe places.

When we visited the center their fear

of a long walk and travel from country to country was over. This was a temporary home but things were normal. The children had found their joy and happiness again. They realized they did not need to grab and fight over everything. They had more toys than they needed. There was enough food for everyone. Their long walk in darkness had finally come to an end. The long days and nights without food, water and shelter were now over. These children did not understand why they had to experience such trauma and suffering. What was important to them was that the pain came to an end. They will begin a new life in their new country. God has given human beings something

wonderful: the ability to move on from a painful past. Children, especially, forgive quickly and move on with their lives. When God asks us to forgive it is because God has given us the ability to forgive. Many people have suffered greatly in this world and many have chosen God’s way of dealing with the painful past by forgiving and grabbing the new life with both hands and moving on.

That refugee center was a home of hope,

especially for those little boys and girls. This is what God wants us to do, to give hope to people in this world where there is so much pain and suffering. We are the agents of hope in this world. Col 1:27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

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