doorofhope-ourfamilynews-mar2019

VOLUNTEER TEAMS
Door of Hope Village is a beautiful piece of property full of life and
potential located in De Deur on the south side of Johannesburg. Though
it abounds with promise, our vision for the village could not be reached
were it not for help from a variety of local and international volunteer
teams. These teams come to the village to help maintain this evergrowing
land, to develop new spaces, and to build, block by block,
so that this place might continue to transform into a village of
hope for some of God’s most vulnerable children.
So far this year we have had 4 different teams
come to volunteer at the village. The North Carolina
Baptists on Mission have already sent two groups:
a group of 4 in January and a group of 9 in February.
The February team, led by concrete expert Skip
Greene, persevered through rain and mud to build
a retaining wall and lay a concrete walkway outside
the “Play and Learn Centre” that will provide clean
and easy access to the play area for our children.
This was Tom and Barbara Burns’ first time on an
international mission trip, but they are pretty sure
it won’t be their last. When asked what advice
they had for someone else considering coming to
volunteer of Door of Hope, they quickly responded,
“It was hard work, harder than we thought it would
be, but so worthwhile. You’ll come back with so
much more than what you have given.”
“These teams come to the village to
help maintain this ever-growing land,
to develop new spaces, and to build,
block by block, so that this place
might continue to transform into
a village of hope for some of God’s
most vulnerable children”
Local teams enjoy coming to volunteer at the
village as well. A group from St. Paul’s United
Church came to the village on a Saturday in
February to cut grass, paint a jungle gym, and make
blocks to be used in future building endeavours.
This team will return in May to help again. Team
member, Janine Brown, told me they have chosen
to invest in Door of Hope Village because, “As a
church we know that pew-warming is not what
our faith is about…. The problem of abandoned
children is also our problem. As the church, we
need to own this problem, practically.” Churches
are not the only ones choosing to be a part of the
solution. Corporate teams, like a group from ACCA,
also join with Door of Hope to serve their local
community together.
You, too, can be a part of this life-giving work.
Though the work is construction-style labour, it
does not require any specialised skills. Church
teams, corporate teams and people of all ages,
from all over the world can come and help us
build a place of hope for the children entrusted
in our care. To learn more please contact teams@
doorofhope.co.za. To see our teams in action visit
us on Facebook.