The House of HopeBloemfontein A trip that changed more than the paint on the walls Bloemfontein sits high on the plateau in the heart of South Africa . It is an attractive city which welcomes tourists, but like all other South African cities, it has its poverty, a legacy from apartheid.
Soon, a group of 19 exceedingly enthusiastic students and five rather more apprehensive adults assembled themselves under the guidance of Mr. Wright. After many months of planning and fundraising the group was ready to go on Monday, July 18th, armed with £11000 (more than three times the amount we had hoped to raise) and scores of bags of clothes, books, games and paint brushes so generously donated by many, many people. The airline was very charitable in allowing each one of us nearly twice our weight limit for luggage.
After more than 24 hours of travelling, we dumped our bags at the B&B, and took a short coach journey to the shelter. Our hearts were beating rapidly with apprehension as we approached. The minute we walked in, all the worries were dispelled. There was a great rush towards each other, arms were flung round everyone, and such smiles as I thought were not possible beamed across the room lighting up the whole shelter with welcoming love and happiness.
We were taken round by the children to see what the conditions were like. Walls were bare plaster, doors were hanging off their hinges, crumbling concrete was underfoot filling the air with fine dust, taps didn't work, the wire mesh in the bunk beds had gaping holes, mattresses were thin pieces of disintegrating foam, bed legs were broken and the beds were precariously propped up on piles of bricks, the showers didn't work, there was no hot water up in the girls area, the cupboards for each child's possessions were old, buckled, metal lockers, the kitchen taps needed a pair of pliers to turn them on and off, … and so the list went on. Despite all this, they just get on with life and they look after the possessions they have. The carers who live there keep everything spotless, they cook each day and they do the washing for 36 children by hand in cold water in big metal tubs outside. We took stock of what needed to be done and arranged the list into some sort of priority order. We split up into small groups of painters, shoppers, organisers, overseers, cleaners and communicators, each of us fitting in with what we naturally did best. The shopping list on the first day threatened to clear the shop out. It included pots of paint in many colours and all sorts of DIY materials and tools. Most of these items would be useful to the shelter after we had gone.
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House of Hope, as it is now called, is a derelict looking warehouse on the outskirts of Bloemfontein just where the townships begin. It stands in a dusty, barren area surrounded by a stark, wire fence. Inside the shelter, which doubles up as the local church, lives a small, caring community. There are 36 children, ranging in age from tots to teens, and there are a handful of hard working adults who look after them and maintain the building as best they can. The couple that run the shelter, Victor and Fransina, live in their own house not far away. By a series of fortuitous events, Mr Wright, a teacher at Biddenham Upper School , Bedford , became aware of their needy situation and pledged to return in 2005 with a band of keen helpers.
