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Opening her door at half past six on Monday morning, Nondo (the community volunteer who manages the Ubomi Obutsha Centre) noticed one of our Educare kids walking up to the Centre on her own!

Nolukanyo (Nosisi) is 5 years old and she comes form a home with a sad sad history that puts her in a very vulnerable position. She was identified last year as a “High Risk” child and invited to attend the Centre’s Educare program along with other children in similar situations and with little hope of an adult close enough to them who can make the difference they need before it’s too late.

Nondo called Nosisi inside to find out why she was going to the Centre by herself so early. Her storey was this:

Her grandmother, who cares for her, was away for a few days leaving her two aunts to look after her. The night before they went out, leaving her home alone, and didn’t return.

She put herself to bed when it was dark and woke up to a still empty house! She was hungry and so decided to get herself ready for Educare so that she could have something to eat.

She washed and dressed herself as best she could (Nondo found streaks of vaselene on her face! :) ) and began her walk to the Centre alone! A few minutes later Nondo saw her.

Nondo tidied her up a little (rubbed in the vaselene properly! etc) and gave her something to eat before going to see what was happening at her house. There was no one there.

Later that afternoon Nondo took her home to find the aunts had returned and a big finger pointing argument erupted over who was responsible, etc, etc. Nondo took Nosisi with her again and then when her grandmother returned that evening, the argument started all over again! Young Nosisi is caught in the middle of a bad situation unable to do anything about it!!

These situations are heart wrenching and many of us don’t really comprehend the devastating reach of the apartheid system, which has been gone for so long now, had! Like those who are supposed to care for Nisisi, we can point fingers too but that doesn’t help her! She is simply an unambiguous example of where God calls us to place the love and grace He extends to us! Her situation, and our reaction to it, is even almost like a setting against which we can calibrate our standing, not just as Christians, but as human beings!

We are just so proud of her though, that through our programs and interventions a little child like her has hope! That she is able to take care of herself as much as she did last Sunday night and that she knows there are people out there who care for her and that her life can be different to the one she lives in now!

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