Honoured by SDA

New Jerusalem children’s home was visited by the Tshedza Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) church for their Global Youth Day ‘Be the Sermon’ campaign

 

The campaign was focused on reaching out and touching lives in need, making a difference and showing love to humanity. The church is in pursuit to show ‘love in action’ to the Midrand community.

They donated food and toiletries on 21 March. They also organised and served a cooked lunch to the children. Both the management and the children were excited about the visit and expressed their joy through song.

The day was filled with music, fun and games as children of all ages interacted with their peers.

The children’s home asked the church to sponsor the painting and possibly a revamp of their dining hall, as the paint has deteriorated over the years. Although the home seeks to be self-sustainable by establishing sources to generate income, it is still short of resources. For sustainability, the home runs the pre-school, a bakery and an organic gardening project, which is a pilot for a bigger farming project the home plans to undertake.

The oldest child at the home started university in February, and the very first child who was there when the home started is now 15. New Jerusalem public relations manager, Patrick Emorhokpor, said as much as they try to make it as homely as possible for the children, they do have financial constraints. “We have several projects that we want to undertake, but we are prioritising the girls’ dormitories. We want them to have their own spaces where they can be comfortable”, said Emorhokpor.

The Tshedza SDA Pastor Jongimpi Papu also emphasised the importance of home and how love should be demonstrated in the home. “I am glad that this is not called a shelter because cars need shelter, animals need shelter but people need a home. Some of us spend a lot of money on houses where there is no love. Love makes a home,” said Papu.

Midrand Reporter article