Remembering Carol

Mission friend, Mrs Frances Gallagher, wrote to us recently with a special request. She wanted to do something in memory of her close friend, Carol, who’d lost a 10-year struggle with cancer.

Frances asked us to choose a classroom in a primary school, where children could sit and read – to be called ‘Carol’s Corner’. We found the perfect place at the afterschool care centre at Bethlehem mission. Named Siyathandwa, it means ‘We Are Loved’.

As with so many of our mission communities, the loss of both parents to chronic illness has resulted in orphaned children living together in ‘child-headed homes’.

Here, the older siblings take care of the younger ones. And to allow the older children to attend school, Siyathandwa was established as a place of safety and early learning for the younger children. When school finishes, the older brothers and sisters fetch the little ones.

Frances and another friend of Carol’s, Miss P Morris-Jones, lovingly donated the funds to make Carol’s Corner a reality.

Carol, and her two dear friends, will long be remembered in this little corner of Africa. A corner where the priceless gifts of friendship, love, and care for children will continue to make their mark.