Thursday, October 1, 2009

Community Pride

I am blessed to have domestic help at home. My domestic worker is not only my "cleaning lady" but a dear friend. She lives in a very humble community on the windswept, dry, sandy Cape Flats.



A few doors down from her live a family I have known for many years who have chosen to minister into this community. Their latest project is transforming the circle of ground outside their home into a food garden, a place for the children to play and older kids to enjoy a bit of sport.

I have been in an out of this cul de sac for years and today the transformation I saw, even though it is an ongoing project, is heart warming.

The unemployed, employed, young mums, dads and children have started to put in physical labor by digging, weeding and other work. They have planted donated plants, made walkways, upgraded play equipment and started to make this space a community project instead of a windswept wasteland.

There are many obstacles to overcome, particularly poor soil (it's more like beach sand) and the wind...but what a wonderful thing to see a change! People from other streets pop in to see what's new and I bet down the line more of these food/play gardens are going to spring up in this area.

Well done Ivan and Amy and the rest of you at Woodwind Circle! I applaud your efforts.

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