Help Roodewal
Our Workers
Meet our workers in the Change Makers program. These are people with a heart after Christ, but some of them did not have privileged circumstances in which the foundation of their lives were laid. However, now they devote their lives to helping others. Maybe you could consider providing for them so they could be able to do what they have to do well.
Erena van de Venter
For the past 30 years Erena, a Christian social worker, has been serving the Coloured community in Worcester. It all began with the New Life Project combatting the gang violence that was greatly impoverishing especially the Roodewal community. Roodewal was the headquarters of the Cape Town Scorpion gang. Due to gang territory the Scorpions had no access to education, health, sport or recreation facilities. This made them frustrated and ruthless. It was in 1986 that God made it clear to Erena that He had a longing to bring healing to Roodewal. He gave the instruction to erect an altar for Him in Roodewal, and so claiming this place without hope, for His Kingdom. This “altar” was erected in the form of a mural (see picture elsewhere), painted by Scorpion gangsters. The pictures on the wall were from Jesus’ life and times when He was on earth.
The erection of Kibbutz El-Shammah was another step of obedience in making ready the people of Roodewal for His Kingdom (Luke 1:17). Once a wasteland, it has since 1993 become a collaborative ministry longing to see the manifestation of God’s presence established in “the gates of hell” – as a pastor once referred to Roodewal.
Now the vision is burning in Erena’s heart even stronger than ever; to continue expanding buildings and programs on the premises, creating opportunities for the community to become involved and paving the way for the new gangsters on the block to find healing, purpose and destiny according to God’s design.
Raymond van den Bergh
Many of us take our living in a safe environment for granted. Not so Raymond, now 21 years old, who grew up with his grandparents in a community in Worcester, South Africa, called OVD. This specific area is controlled by the Dogpound gang.
Over-crowded streets and flats, limited school and recreational facilities, deplorable housing, plus problems such as drug addiction, crime, poverty, unemployment and juvenile delinquency are the breeding ground for gangs. Eighty to ninety percent of all crimes in Worcester are gang-related and Worcester has become the hub of gangs in the Western Cape according to the local police. Raymond was therefore affected by this scenario as well. He became an active member of the Dogpound gang and started using drugs, even becoming a drug merchant.
But then our local authorities forcefully removed many families living in OVD and moved them to another community, called Avian Park. Raymond and his grandparents were moved to Avian Park as well. This meant “death sentence” to Raymond, as this community is controlled by the enemy gang, the JCY’s. I heard about Raymond’s serious dilemma and invited him to participate in our Christian Change Maker Program. The aim of this program is to help gangsters and drug addicts to break free. He immediately agreed.
This past year Raymond has done exceptionally well. He was healed from his drug addiction and broke free from the gang. The only problem is that the gangs refuse to release him. He has become a prisoner of the gang rule in Avian Park as well as OVD. He cannot survive more mobbing and threats. Within one month he was stabbed and had to flee from gangsters who wanted to shoot him. It became critical, and eventually Kibbutz El-Shammah, a Christian based community organisation, offered to accommodate him. Here he is safe and can continue with after-hours schooling.
We see a great future for this young man, and believe he is a pioneer in helping other gangsters and drug addicts to break free. We are going to train him for this.
To provide for his basic needs he needs £50.00 per month. Can you please help Raymond by contributing towards his accommodation? If you are interested in helping Raymond, I will keep you informed of his progress as well as the progress of our program to reach out to gangsters and drug addicts.
Muriel (Mia) Heradien
In 1997 Mia came to offer her services at Kibbutz El-Shammah. It soon became evident that she was a very capable and competent woman with much to offer this organisation. Initially she was only involved in our drama department, but then began serving in our kitchen, as well as on our grounds. We soon appointed her as our Service Manager.
Mia excelled as Service Manager. She worked closely with the people from the Roodewal community, building good relationships. Correctional Services became aware of her healthy work ethics and her capability of bringing out the best in people. They trusted Kibbutz El-Shammah to become a recipient of people serving correctional sentences by court of law. This became another responsibility of Mia.
Because of Mia being multi tasked, Kibbutz El-Shammah’s leadership added more responsibility on her shoulders, appointing her to be our volunteer manager. She was responsible to find and oversee work placements and accommodation of local and international volunteers.
When Mia first came to Kibbutz El-Shammah as a volunteer, she was going through a divorce. She and her two children, 11 and 5 years old, needed a place to stay. In the year 2000 they moved to the Kibbutz where they lived for eight years. This was a time of healing for them, and a time for Mia to find purpose and destiny as she walked with the Lord. When she remarried in 2008, she moved to Hexpark, the neighbouring community of Roodewal. She continued to still serve the Kibbutz as a board member.
Mia’s vision is to work with men and to help and support them as they receive training from professional artisans and for them to eventually enter the labour market as hard-working and efficient workers. Mia’s role would be to initially oversee two men who successfully came through the Change Maker Program, Marc Malan and Raymond van den Bergh. She will coach them to work according to healthy guidelines, using the Kibbutz garden and grounds as their training field.
As Raymond and Marc become efficient workers who are purpose driven and proactive, they will also be trained to become mentors of the second phase of the program.
Marc Malan
Marc, 21 years old, grew up in a healthy home in Worcester. In Grade 10 he dropped out of school through negative peer pressure. He started experimenting with drugs when he was 13 years old, and gradually became addicted to Mandrax and TIK (Methamphetamine). He joined a gang and became actively involved in their negative and violent ways and even became a merchant selling drugs.
Marc’s lifestyle followed a downward spiral. He started threatening his parents to financially support his drug habit. His mother was a Christian who asked her friends to pray for her son. Things at home became unbearable as Marc began to sell the furniture from their house. He looked for many illegal ways to get money to buy drugs, even breaking down anything he could find that could be sold for money.
Eventually his parents had no choice but to lay charges against Marc and had to get an interdict to protect their lives and property. More charges such as burglary, robbery, and illegal dealing in drugs started heaping up against Marc. Today when he looks back he sees God’s grace, knowing that he should have spent much more time behind bars, but somehow he was only jailed for two days - all his other sentences having been suspended or given bail.
Marc was desperate to make a change. When he heard about the opportunity offered to be helped, he entered the Change Maker Program which included being admitted to Toevlug Rehabilitation Centre in Worcester. After five weeks in rehabilitation, he went through an intensive life coaching program for two months, being mentored by Jim Stoppenhagen, an American expert in the field of Discipleship. The first change for Marc came when He gave his heart to the Lord Jesus Christ and asked Jesus to be the Lord of his life.
It has been over a year that Marc has been drug free and a disciple of Jesus Christ. He can now boldly proclaim that we serve a Mighty God, taking a message of hope to the schools and communities. He has brought joy back to his family and they too can testify to the goodness of God and that He answers prayer.
Marc says, “I want to bring about change in other people’s lives. It is a lot to ask of a young man to stay on the right path – it is a big thing indeed, but living a life of sobriety makes you enjoy life! I want my testimony to spur people on to change their lives.”