Methodist builds E150k home for homeless kids
DLANGENI - The Methodist Church, Hhohho Circuit, has restored dignity to a homeless family of eight children at Dlangeni.
7he dignity was restored in the form of a four-room house worth over ( which was constructed at a place which used to be the children¶s parental homestead. 7he children lost their parents a number of years ago. 7hey then relocated to their mother¶s parental homestead where they were taNen care of by their grandmother who is a member of the church. 6tructures in the homestead collapsed after the children left.
7he church committed itself to restoring dignity through a theme µ5estore 'ignity to a child-headed family¶ and revealed that the selection of the family did not come easy since there were many needy families in the area.
Beneficiaries
,t was mentioned that the family was shortlisted to be beneficiaries of the firstof-its-Nind programme in the area based on the criteria wherein the church noted that they were orphans.
7he church stated that the family situation qualified them to the newly-initiated programme. 7he church built the homestead from scratch. 1ot only did the church build the house but it also donated furniture. 7he church thanNed the area¶s authorities and the community for allowing it to assist the children. 5everend *oodwill 0asuNu who was leading the service thanNed *od for using the church to show +is hand to the needy family. +e said the house was nothing without *od¶s presence. +e said for every creation there was an earthly and heavenly element. ³:e have built this house and we thanN *od for showing +is face. :e are here to invite +is presence and governance to this family. $s we hand over these Neys to Gogo 'lamini , would liNe to tell the children that no one will have the right to taNe them without her permission. , would liNe to remind you that this homestead will be governed by *od through Gogo 'lamini ´ the reverend said. 7he women of the church stated that they were committed to restoring dignity through discipleship. 7hey said more houses would be built for the needy families in the area. ³7he church initiated programmes which have given birth to this proMect after we observed that some children were left homeless after the death of their parents. :e learnt that some children had no one to put food on the table and cater for their school fees ´ said the women representative. $s a result the women of the church shared that one of the children had completed school through financial support from the church bursary.
Situation
6he said the church felt duty-bound to build the house for the homeless children after learning about their situation. 6he said the women of the church were inspired by the good 6amaritan who tooN care of a person who was inMured and abandoned on the road. ³-esus used the parable of the good 6amaritan to teach us about the true neighbour. -esus taught us to identify the real problem before offering assistance to a needy person.´ 7he women warned people against Mudging others without identifying the real problem leading to their action and behaviour. ³,f you see a person eating from a dustbin or wearing dirty clothes give yourself time and talN to him her so that you can identify the motive so that you can assist as opposed to Mudging him her. $t times food parcels are not the solution to a homeless person. %etter build that person a house rather than giving him her food from the street ´ the women of the church said.
7he women said people lost their dignity and felt less important in society once they became homeless. 7hey also encouraged people to associate with other people in order to learn about their needs.
Opportunity
7he women afforded 3rofessor 0hlanga from /ove 'eeds )oundation an opportunity to say a word at the event. ,n his brief remarNs 0hlanga started by declaring that the 0ethodist &hurch was his role model. +e said it was for that reason the foundation offered a helping hand in order to see the proMect being a success. +e said the foundation embraced the culture of giving. ³$s a foundation we were inspired by the collective efforts towards this initiative. :e have nothing much to say e[cept thanNing *od for maNing this initiative a success ´ he said.
0eanwhile the construction and handover of the house to the /uNhele children has come as a surprise to +huNwini Inkhundla. 7he family members of the children failed to hold bacN tears as they received the Neys to the house from the 0ethodist &hurch.