Psalm 46: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride...The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold."Today is our tenth anniversary celebration...and God is good! The Herald set the record straight with the following article in todays news paper.
Destitute find a haven at Vistarus
Mawande Jack LABOUR CORRESPONDENT
THOUGH not much is known about the Vistarus Christian Mission, a haven for the indigent, foreign refugees and recovering addicts, the services it provides to these people underlines what a caring society ought to be.On her visit to the haven last year, former Eastern Cape premier Nosimo Balindlela praised Vistarus for its unique involvement with the community with an undertaking that this kind of institution would be replicated in other parts of the province.The shelter – which will celebrate its 10th anniversary this weekend – has provided a home for destitute people who have spent their lives living on the streets, recovering drug addicts and alcoholics, abused women and children, the elderly, and psychiatric patients.“Vistarus is a light that shines and a haven of hope to people who are in need,” founder Kobus Jacobs said as he referred to the scores of people whose lives have been touched by him.
The haven has been under the spotlight after some people complained about being forced to work to produce concrete slabs for 19 hours a day and being paid only R100 a week, without been given protective clothing.Jacobs denied these allegations, saying he had started Vistarus in response to his calling as a Christian.Speaking last week, a number of people, including Jacobs‘s wife, Lynette, and DA councillor Jeremy Davis, commended the work that Vistarus did. Each one of them rejected outright, allegations that people at Vistarus were subjected to appalling work conditions. Over 40 homeless families, including 91 children, who live at Vistarus, are provided with food, clothes, accommodation, life skills and medical care.Social worker Heloise le Roux said people under the three-month life skills programme were given jobs in concrete slab manufacturing, gardening, cleaning and recycling. Le Roux said the kind of work they do, where they get a gratuity and not wages, was designed to keep them from reverting back to drugs and alcohol.Pensioner Vincent Cherry, 71, who once spent his life in the streets, was full of praise for Jacobs and his wife, saying they had welcomed him to the haven and gave him something in life.
“I take my hat off for this man. He has done a lot for me.”Yvette Bird, 31, a former chef who was accommodated at Vistarus after suffering from a rare neuropathic disease that includes rapid development of muscle paralysis as a symptom, said her life had also turned around. “I was not fit to do any job. They provided everything for me and I now enjoy working in the kitchen.”Former street kid James Kamiso, 17, recalled with sadness the days he used to stay under the bridge, hungry and in cold weather. He now helps off-load bakkies.The centre also accommodates refugees, including Moise Okenke who said he found Vistarus after spending months homeless after he fled from the Democratic Republic of Congo. “I went to many places for help. No one wanted to help me. Here I‘m getting everything for free.”Vistarus which was established in 1998 in a building originally used as a railway hostel in Sydenham.We had a wonderful breakfast this morning with many of our donors and sponsors. Thank you for supporting us...and stood with us in the past 10 years.
