It is now several years since Hope Now handed over the various ministries in Cape Town into local hands. However, Hope Now has maintained responsibility for some of the former residents of Rainbow House. Margaret Ferguson, who moved to South Africa from England has, with a small band of trustees undertaken the oversight of these young men and women. Here she is able to give some insight into their challenges and achievements.
FRAGOSA FAMILY They continue to live in substandard, overcrowded accommodation by Western standards but at least they are somehow managing the rent – a bedroom for the boys and one for the girls, a poor kitchen / shower room with a separate toilet, but no living room. However they remain cheerful and focused on their studies. Hopefully in 2011 they will all be in fulltime education; three in tertiary education and one at school. It will be a significant change for them as they had become very dependent on Rosaria, the eldest, in practical terms and I have had a serious and definitive talk with them all about shouldering their own responsibilities and sharing the home chores properly, as part of the conditions for their funding. To be fair, in the past, Rosaria allowed herself to be something of a ‘doormat’ but after I had spoken to her, she took action to sort them out. They all laughed and said that when they gained their independence, they would invite me to their weddings - their way of saying ‘we appreciate what you are doing’. There is talk from some of them about possibly having a better future in Angola once they have qualifications; this is understandable given what we see happening in South Africa.
Dominique He has done very well in his Electrical Engineering Diploma gaining17 distinctions out of 21 modules. He is currently doing his practical year in industry part time with his practical modules from the University. He is unpaid as with refugee status, corporate firms would not employ him. He saw the Head of Department and has been offered a place at the University of Cape Town (UCT) to study for a 4 year Electrical Engineering degree in February 2011 – that is a superior qualification at an internationally accredited University. Funding is the problem. It costs twice as much at UCT. He is currently applying to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees for a scholarship. Through her work, Simone, a fellow trustee, has a contact who is researching whether he might get a business scholarship from Angola that would be tied to a job their on his return. Staff at UCT have expressed a strong wish for him to study there.
Walter Walter is currently hoping to study for a Certificate in Sound Engineering at a private College, but that may be outside of our ability to pay and work in that field is very competitive. However, Walter has been told the full picture so now must decide what he is going to do. He is the practical chap in the family; give him a computer, TV or microwave and he gets it working for you!!
Rosaria She really seems to be stepping out into a future for herself. We expect her to start at Cape Town College in 2011 to study for a Certificate in Educare which she wants to upgrade to a Diploma. That would mean that she could run her own pre-school or manage one.
Alexandra She continues to work hard and whenever necessary takes extra classes to help with weaker subjects (sometimes the teacher’s mistake not the class!), though I can say that she consistently gains marks that are significantly above the class average. I have been enquiring from the school concerning her chances of a matric exemption; that gives her the right to a place to study for a degree. Hotel Management is Alexandra’s interest. Her consistent results really are amazing considering that nearly 2 years ago, she struggled to pass her Year 9 and not repeat it and we wanted her to go for a vocational rather than a school matric. We were extremely concerned when she chose to remain in formal schooling but she has certainly ‘pulled the stops out’ to prove us wrong!
Angelique She is very mature and continues to do well studying ‘Development Studies (in the African context)’. She recently had the results of her second semester of her 1 year Honors degree. We get on well and it was great to see that in the essay module where she had to write 3 essays based on ‘Social Problems and Development’, all our discussions together meant that she got 79% as I tried to show her the application of the theories she learnt in practical terms and what is happening on the ground; it has given her confidence to develop her ideas and express them confidently. The week of the exam, I took her to a very participative workshop run by an American professor on ‘Democracy and its Values’ which he did in terms of South Africa. My theories about accountability came up and I led a table. She was so excited that she now knew clearly what she would be doing for the third essay!! The Lord is amazing that He has given Angelique and I a common interest in this subject. She hopes to be offered a full scholarship to study for her Masters degree in the same subject. She needs to get an overall average of 70% for exams and assignments and the Department of Government is hopeful that she will make it. I have also recommended that she look at UCT with its international accreditation, if she could be offered a full scholarship. I spoke at my church with Angelique with me and said that the key thing to her is that she will never doubt that the Lord will find a way for her – she has had some horrific situations in which to live and being held up at gunpoint which left trauma just as she took her exams but He always provides a way out. She has been living in a university room since last October and is very happy there. Who knows – only God - whether 2 of our protégés will be at UCT next year! Please pray that the Lord opens the doors for them all to be equipped to the best of their ability to make their way.
As the summer season at Kompas Park draws to a close with the September
widows’ and widowers’ camps, this seems a good time to say thank you to
our wonderful staff.
