SAMMY HEPPER, who was Deputy Head Boy in 2014, spent six months serving at LIV village, a self-sustainable community near Durban in South Africa.
What an adventure. South Africa has 3.7 million orphans, many as a result of AIDS. I served at LIV Village, a self-sustainable community built near Durban by the local church to care for orphaned children and vulnerable women. The village currently has 40 mothers who care for 160 adopted children. The vision is to care for 1,000 and the organisation plans to build similar villages across South Africa to combat this heart-breaking humanitarian problem. First arriving at LIV though, I was acutely unaware of what was truly in store for me. I simply knew that Jesus had sent me and I was up for an adventure with Him!
My well-meaning but naïve intentions of ‘going to help the children in Africa’ quickly vanished as I realised that I learned far more than I could have given. I wept one evening after hearing a village mum tell her story and that of her adopted children. The sadness quickly passed though as I stared up at the 60-foot cross at the centre of the village and saw instead a story of redemption as they now have a hope for the future by the love of God. We served in LIV’s agriculture, textiles factory and construction, as well as the school, sports and youth discipleship programmes. Spending time with the children playing games amongst the houses and in the common rooms and learning Zulu with the village mums were precious times.
I feel privileged to have been able to spend six months learning from these children, their mothers, and LIV’s ever-serving staff team. LIV stands true to its motto: ‘Rescue a child. Restore a life. Raise a leader. Release as a star.’ I am truly thankful for how the Old Burians’ Association generously supported me in a life-changing adventure, as I too have been rescued, restored, raised and released.
Every blessing,
Sammy