Article - Die Burger - 10 June 2013

Mission Station gives back hope to many destitute

In Port Elizabeth the icy cold of winter has hit over the weekend. What to do if you don't have that nice cup of Hot Chocolate or thick duvet to snuggle under? Este Beerwinkel visited PE's Mission Station Vistarus, where many has found shelter from the cold and had an interview with Angelique van Loggerenberg.

She was convinced that Vistarus was the only place standing between her and her children's death. She knocked, the door opened and her old life of drugs, alcohol and prostitution was left behind.
It has been three months and here, in the heart of winter, Angelique van Loggerenberg is very happy that she knocked on the welcoming door of Vistarus.
"I was despondent, I didn't feel human anymore. I told the people here that if they cannot take me in, I'm going to take my children and stand in front of a truck and there will be nothing left of us. They took me in because they could see I was at my last."

Angelique told us her story of how she and her two sons, ages 7 and 2, wandered around until she was finally ready to give up her past and freedom and knocked on Vistarus' door.

"Before I came to Vistarus, I walked against the wind and the wind knocked me back several times. I tried to numb the pain of my life with drugs and alcohol. TIK and Heroin helped me cope. When I suffered a heart attack I decided that enough is enough and I am now done with drugs. I wanted my ex and the father of my children to also leave the life of drugs behind but he refused and I realised that it is not my responsibility to prostitute myself in order for him to get drugs."

Angelique is now working as one of the cleaning ladies and is slowly but surely getting herself back on her own feet.

Many of the 580 residents of Vistarus is also going down the road to recovery but the need is still high because 200 of the residents are unemployed and there are 119 children that needs care.

According to Public Relations Officer, Fatima Collins, Vistarus is always under more pressure during the winter period. "Our doors are always open to those who are in dire need, but we also make sure that when they leave Vistarus one day, they will be back on their feet and recovered from the problems they had when they first came for help. The space is limited and the availability of rooms are becoming less but we find ways of helping people find shelter."

Angelique van Loggerenberg's life testifies of this new hope. "I also wanted the love, humilty and peace I saw in others. Everything I never had before, I have now. This place made me whole again and made me feel human once again."