Testimony from Rooikoppen: Hope in the Harshest Places
Where Darkness Tried to Write the Story
Rooikoppen… a name whispered with fear by many who know the outskirts of the townships near Standerton, Mpumalanga. It is one of the most crime-stricken and impoverished areas in the region, a place where brokenness seems to hang in the air like smoke.
Families migrate from rural farms hoping to find work in town, only to end up squatting in makeshift shacks. With no stable income, no safety, and no support systems, desperation becomes a daily companion.
It was here, in this forgotten corner of South Africa, where God broke my heart.
I saw children abandoned because the poverty was too severe for their parents to cope with. I saw little ones roaming the dusty roads in torn clothes, hungry, hopeless, and unprotected. Many were street children with no one to fight for them.
I cried out to God for a partner, someone who spoke Zulu, someone who understood the community, someone with a heart burning for the lost and the broken.
And God, in His faithfulness, answered.
A Divine Partnership
He gave me Mama Bongi.
A warm-hearted, compassionate former teacher with a fierce love for abandoned and hurting children. Together, we began to dream of a safe place, somewhere children could learn, be fed, and discover the love of God.
We started with nothing but passion and obedience.
Just a humble shack kitchen.
A blue-and-white tent for classrooms.
And faith – faith bigger than our resources.
But God blessed the work of our hands.
As business owners and individuals witnessed the fruit of the project, they began to partner with us.
What began as a small seed grew into something we never could have imagined.
For nearly 22 years, we cared for 310 children every single day, feeding them, educating them, praying over them, and helping them dream again.
A Testimony I Will Never Forget
Among the hundreds of stories that shaped my heart, one shines brighter than the rest.
A 12-year-old girl… a child forced into prostitution.
Her own mother had sold her to men – a wound so deep it nearly silenced her future.
We found her, frightened and broken, and brought her into our care. Step by step, with love, counselling, prayer, and unwavering support, her shattered life began to heal.
She returned to school. She worked harder than anyone around her.
And God restored what darkness tried to destroy.
She completed Grade 12 with six distinctions.
Six.
A living testimony of God’s redeeming love and the unstoppable resilience He places inside every child.
Transformation Beyond a Generation
As the years passed, the Lord continued to give us favour. Families were restored, children found safety, and the entire community began to transform.
What happened in Rooikoppen will remain a testimony to this truth:
When God steps into a broken place, hope becomes unstoppable.
And Above All…
This journey has taught me something profound…that it truly takes a village to raise a child.
It takes many united, warm hearts to build places of safety where children can heal, grow, and thrive.
