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Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Joshua Leo.
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And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand - no matter where in the world they live.
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It is the Valley of a Thousand Hills, in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. A woman drives through this country area. Along the road, there are many graves for dead bodies. She sees houses, but many appear empty. They are broken, so that rain comes in. Sometimes she sees a small face. Children live there, without parents. Something terrible has happened here. The disease AIDS has killed most of the adults. But Heather Reynolds is working to help these children, and this community. Today’s Spotlight is on Heather, and the organization God’s Golden Acre.
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In 1993, Heather made a promise:
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‘God, from this day on I will help every child in need, every child that needs a home, every child that crosses my path’.
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Since then, she and her husband Patrick have developed God’s Golden Acre. This is the name they gave to an area of land in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Heather has developed the land into a home. There, they and other workers care for children who do not have parents.
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For most people, developing God’s Golden Acre would be enough. But Heather has expanded her work into the communities surrounding God’s Golden Acre. In this part of South Africa 36% of the population is infected. AIDS has destroyed these communities.
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This is for a particular reason. AIDS mainly affects young people - mothers and fathers. These are the people who work and make money. They build and care for houses. They raise children.
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When the parents die, children have to care for themselves. Sometimes a grandparent can help. But there is very little money. Children in this situation cannot go to school. They do not get enough to eat. They develop health problems. Most importantly, they do not have the encouragement and guidance of parents and community members.
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Heather and Patrick decided to do something about these things. They did not just want to help a few children. They wanted to help whole communities. In a book about her life, Heather remembers one situation that affected her greatly. She says,
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‘I visited one family living in a village near God’s Golden Acre. They were in terrible need. I took some food and clothes. When I arrived an old woman met me. She had tears in her eyes. She asked for my help. Her husband and many of her children had died. The old woman was caring for her grandchildren. Only her youngest daughter was left and she was very sick. This young girl was lying inside the home. She had her baby with her. Both were dying. They had AIDS. The old woman also had to care for her older sister, who was blind. The woman did not know how she would provide for her family. I looked at her situation. I knew then that we would have to expand our work. We needed to find a way of helping people like her’.
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Now, God’s Golden Acre has many projects to help families like this. Each project is designed to support families in need. Project workers show families how to develop their land for food. They teach the families how to make goods to sell. They provide the families with equipment and support. They want to help families help themselves.
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Project workers also make sure that every child goes to school. They provide the children with school clothes, books and equipment. They also pay the children’s school bills. Heather believes that education is very important if these children are to have a better life. Each outreach project is supported by money given by many people, in South Africa and around the world.
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AIDS has created another kind of need too - a need for structure. In the countryside areas of KwaZulu Natal AIDS has caused a serious breakdown in traditional family and community structures. A lack of parents means that children are left to deal with life’s pressures alone. There is no-one to control them, no-one to give them wise words, support and love. As a result many of them turn to alcohol and drugs. These often lead to increased crime. Heather and her project workers knew that they needed to do something to help.
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They developed two new ideas. They developed, ‘God’s Golden Acre African Sporting’ and the ‘Song and Dance Training Programme’. Children develop a good sense of belonging and purpose through sport. The project workers put the children into teams. The children learn about football. They learn to kick the ball and win points for their team. Children gain a great sense of self worth. They also get used to obeying rules and living a healthy life. Some of the children have shown great skill. They are very good at playing football. Some older boys now play for South Africa’s national team. They have become heroes to the younger boys. They provide the younger boys with a good example to follow.
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In the same way, song and dance training gives the children new skills for the future. They are able to express their emotions through dance and song. This is important. Bad experiences have damaged many of these children. They need to deal with their feelings in a safe way. Song and dance gives the children purpose and direction in life. Some of the children get a chance to dance for important people at big events. Sometimes they even go to other countries to perform their shows.
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Heather says that she never imagined God would use her in this way. She just simply took one step at a time. She has been through difficult times. She has often wanted to give up. But her faith in God kept her strong. At the end of her book, Heather wrote this message,
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‘My trip through life serving God has shown me the power of prayer and the power of love. I truly believe that people of all races can combine their efforts to change this world into a better place. As a united people let us take responsibility; what we invest in the future of a child, we invest in the future of our world’.
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The writer of this program was Elizabeth Lickiss. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at https://www.radioenglish.net This .program is called, ‘God’s Golden Acre, Part 2’.
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We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.