Missionary diaconal worker Jozien Koelewijn recently ran a crisis shelter for teenage girls in South Africa. She does so together with Fundi Shangase. Fundi's life story illustrates why a centre like this is needed.
Vulnerable child
Fundi grew up in rural areas in the Eastern Cape, not far from Matatiele. Her early years were marked by poverty, abuse and hard work. As a young woman, she married a man who was a lot older. They had three children, but it was not a happy marriage. Her husband was often drunk and absent as a father.
With what little she had, Fundi helped children whose parents had died of AIDS, for instance. She volunteered at an AIDS hospice that's where Jozien got to know her. That was more than 16 years ago now. They found each other in their dedication to helping those who did not die pick up the threads of their lives
Love and healing
A nasty atmosphere had developed in the hospice and Fundi and Jozien decided to leave it, trusting that God had another task for them. Meanwhile, it was also a difficult time for Fundi on a personal level. Little by little, she told Jozien about all she had been through and what it was like at her home now. She often came to Jozien's home and clearly needed healing.
They were hectic years, during which Fundi and Jozien were allowed to find a way to help the people and children in Ntuzuma township. During those years, Ikhaya Lothando was born out of love for the children who, like Fundi, did not receive the care they so desperately needed. The vision was born out of love, experience, healing and the courage to go on and look after others too. Because things were often made difficult for Fundi because she was different. She did not dwell on her own pain, but wanted to use it, with God's help, to give what she herself had missed.
Blessing and trust
Fundi is an extremely powerful and talented woman. Jozien: "I thank God that we got to know each other so deeply. It has by no means always been easy and there were times when I thought we would not make it. Fundi, as an African woman also looked out for me as a person and I have learnt an awful lot from her. She has often been my protection in the violent township of Ntuzuma. Healing could slowly begin when she was able to confide her story to me. A story she had never shared before. We went deep but that was the foundation, for where we stand now and are allowed to work."
Jozien and Fundi still share everything with each other. White and black in a country that still does not consider this normal. They work and live together, "but Fundi leads the way in our project, our new family home Ikhaya Lothando." Together, they are mothers to children who have no home and open their hearts and homes to the people God brings to them. "Anyone who gets to know Fundi better cannot help but gain an awful lot of respect for her. She is a woman who is still standing through everything. I thank God for what He has done through her and hopefully will continue to do for many years to come."
