An Open Letter from Keabetswe
My Arms Wide Open has shone a light of hope in my community of Bergnek (Limpopo province, South Africa). I met Warren Te Brugge in February 2010 at a hotel in Johannesburg where I was working at the time. I overheard him speaking with someone about what he was doing in South Africa. I approached him and I asked him to help my community in the northern part of the country. (Bergnek, South Africa).
Like many communities in South Africa, Bergnek has its fair share of disadvantages. There is no health care facility; the community waits for a mobile clinic that comes once every Wednesday, and its more like a first aid box that does not help with anything. There is high rate of unemployment and poverty. There is no recreational facilities, just to mention a few of the problems.
My Arms Wide Open has since bought and put in a water pump that is now supplying water to all the villagers within the community. At the moment we are trying to establish a community based project that will help employ most, if not all the community members so they can be able to support their families and give their children a better life. The main objective of the community project is to create enough revenue to sustainably fund a health care centre, that will help the community of Bergnek and the surrounding communities.
A lot of families in my community lost their loved ones, only because they can not get basic health care. I lost my 2yr old son in 2006, only because he could not get help. No parent should lose a child at such an early age. My dream is to help my community get a health care facility which will help many young children and old people.
Since My Arms Wide Open came into our lives, there is light at the end of the tunnel. One of the things we did already was to do the Iziko Labahlali program. My experience with the program was an eye opener. It some how helped me to look at life differently. It was more of motivational and improving self esteem, challenging oneself to strive on becoming a better individual. I believe that, all those that participated had a different approach to life after attending the program.
One of the exercises we did was The River of Life. The river of my life was a bit painful, because I had to turn back the clock and think, write and paint about the happy moments and painful events that I experienced in my life. That really helped me to deal with the loss and accept the situation as it is, it helped me move on.
I would recommend the program to professional individuals and those who are in the corporate world, it will enhance their inner ability to work with whatever difficulties they may face in the corporate world. I think the program was designed to help every individual from all walks of life. I am a different person after the Iziko Labahlali program and its all thanks to Mr Warren Te Brugge.
Help us eradicate poverty and suffering in my community.
Kind regards,
Keabetswe (Keith) M
Your Comments: Let us know what you think. For more information or if you would like to find out more about the Iziko Labahlali ProgramTM or how you can help the people of Bergnek, please contact us using the information below.
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Support the community of Bergnek in South Africa to turn hope into opportunity and change for their community. Become a Part of the Change!
You can also support the community in two additional initiatives already underway that are also taking place in the Bergnek community:
Building Vertical Food Walls to create a sustainable food source in the community.
Help us to give girls the menstrual products they need to be able to stay in school.
