Gladys said that in the past they had nothing but poverty, but now they are beginning to have hope.

The beauty of South Africa lies in its variety. When the sun shines on Johannesburg, the tailings from the gold mines around the city glitter in the light. When spring comes in Pretoria, the capital of South Africa, the streets turn light purple with blooming jacaranda flowers. Washed by the blue water of the Indian Ocean, the pier in Durban is often filled with yachts because of the mild weather.

However, hidden under such beauty is helplessness. After the abolition of apartheid, the government proclaimed a new slogan: "Let us build together." Although politically all races are equal, there is still much to be done culturally, economically and educationally.

Black people who could only move around in their own tribal homelands under apartheid are now swarming into the cities. Tin-roofed huts spread like a blight along the outskirts of the metropolis. The hard-line policies of the unions have forced foreign investors to leave the country, and the unemployment rate keeps rising. All these problems keep Tzu Chi people in South Africa busy, but they hope that every bit of assistance they offer can light a hope.

Street children

Unable to endure his stepfather's beatings, twelve-year-old Roy fled from home a week ago and is wandering on the streets of Johannesburg. He doesn't want to stay in a shelter for the homeless because he feels too restricted there. He plans to hitchhike to Durban to look for his natural father.

"I will not go back home," said Roy resolutely. When asked about his mother and brothers, he said nothing but just shrugged his shoulders. His only regret is that he can no longer play soccer, his favorite sport, with his schoolmates.

Thousands and thousands of children like Roy run away from their homes for different reasons and wander on the streets. Most of them roam around Durban.

Thulani's parents both passed away when he was ten. He went to live with his aunt, but she already had four children of her own. Thulani left and wandered on the streets for four years. Street life was very hard. He was frequently attacked by passersby, but he never knew why. Last year, a social worker with "Containers" told him it would be much better to live in a shelter in Durban. He finally came and entered the shelter last year. Now his life is improved and he can go back to school again.

"Containers" is the Durban Outreach and Reception Center. According to police officer Bongani, most street children in Durban come from all over South Africa and even from neighboring countries. They come for different reasons--their parents have no jobs or are divorced. With its mild weather and its many tourist spots where children can beg for money or food, Durban has become a base for street people.

The Durban Outreach and Reception Center was founded in February 1997, consisting of four freight containers fitted out with a simple bathroom, a kitchen, a lounge and a counseling room. Tzu Chi members in Durban provided the ventilation equipment, kitchen and bathroom facilities and built the fence outside. Therefore, they care very much how the center is getting along.

Bongani observed that the purpose of the center was to enable street children to go back home. Center personnel keep a list of the street children they have found in Durban. Through basic information, they check on the family backgrounds of the children and ask them whether they are willing to go back. They hope that with proper assistance, they can send most of the children home. If a family is not suitable for the children or if they are not willing to go back, then the center will transfer them to other shelters.

The center has given Bongani much hope. Since its establishment, the number of street children has been reduced by more than twelve percent.

Homeless

Due to the sudden death of his mother, Roland began wandering on the streets after he finished elementary school. At fourteen, he was accepted by a shelter. He left it when he was twenty and came to Johannesburg. Now he has been on the streets for two years. "Why don't you get a job?" He always answers, "I like freedom." After we got acquainted with each other, he talked more freely with me. "I'm like a bat, hiding in the daytime and flying out at night. It will take time if you want me to change my way of life. I used to be a street child. Now I'm homeless. I'm part of the streets. I spend my time day and night on the streets. I'm trying to make a living on those same streets that have made me suffer so much."

He occasionally gets a little money by writing for a magazine, Homeless Talk. He is fond of writing. Recalling the days in the shelter, he said he didn't like that place at all because they only forced him to learn practical skills such as baking. His own interests were completely neglected.

On Saturdays, Roland sometimes comes to a food supply center for the homeless sponsored by the Tzu Chi Youth Corps in South Africa. He does not like the "homeless" label that other people put on him, but with Tzu Chi people he deeply feels that he is respected. "I like you because you treat me as a human being."

Having finished a bowl of hot rice porridge, Roland took a few pieces of bread and went to a tree where five or six young Tzu Chi Youth Corps members, about the same age as himself, were playing chess. Several children also ran over and stared curiously. One child knew one of the Youth Corps members and said to him with a smile, "Your food is very good."

When he learned that the Tzu Chi members came from Taiwan, one young man with a necktie approached them, carrying his hot soup and bread. "I am a high school graduate, but I can't find a job. Can you help me?" In Johannesburg, we frequently saw youngsters standing on the streets, holding pieces of cardboard on which they had written messages begging for food or money. Dozens of people would queue up at the entrance of an industrial district and wait for several hours in the hope of getting even a temporary job.

Apartheid was abolished in 1994, and a tremendous number of black people swarmed into the cities. Johannesburg had a surplus of labor and too many people were unemployed. In that city, several places provided food for the homeless every day, but Tzu Chi was the only organization that would lead their guests in chanting "Amitabha" before eating. After the chanting, Youth Corps members would ask one of the homeless to read a passage from the Bible.

"We hope everyone can have a heart filled with gratitude," said Brother Yu Kuo-yu, the leader of the Tzu Chi Youth Corps. He also hoped that through such interactions, Youth Corps members could appreciate the joy of giving and the sharing of responsibility.

Helping themselves

Despite the seriousness of the unemployment situation, many South Africans are working hard on their own. With the assistance of Tzu Chi, Mary, founder of the Good Hope Community Organization, established the Lotus Home for street children in the autumn of 1998. In addition, she also runs a sewing class, a porcelain class and a day care center for the community of Mapobani.

In May 1995, a group of Tzu Chi commissioners from Taiwan went to South Africa to distribute relief materials. With local Tzu Chi members, they held a candlelight vigil for racial harmony in the community of Soshanguve, near Pretoria. There, Mary learned about Tzu Chi and decided to donate a piece of land for a vocational training institute or a shelter. After considering all the factors, Tzu Chi people encouraged her to establish a vocational training center--the Good Hope Community Organization.

Tzu Chi members Lin Yao-kuo and Liu Chien-hui stayed in touch with Mary, and the Tzu Chi liaison office in Johannesburg provided daily necessities for her organization. According to Liu, Mary is a very kind-hearted person. When she smiles, her face shows two rows of neat white teeth. Anyone who meets her for the first time is affected by her enthusiasm. She had bought that piece of land with the money she had saved from decades of selling bread.

Tzu Chi people gave her the book, Master of Love and Mercy: Cheng Yen. For several nights after she had read it, Mary could not sleep because she had too many reflections. She remarked that Tzu Chi people made her clearly understand what she should do and how she should do it. She no longer considers herself poor. Even though she might be financially poor, her mind is not.

Her ideal for the Good Hope Community Organization is self-sufficiency. In addition to selling handicrafts made at the vocational training center, selling fruit juice is another source of income. Under her active leadership, many people come to the organization to do volunteer work. Henock, a worker in the training center, said that Mary was a gift from heaven.

Gladys is another example of self-help. In May 1995, when Sister Chuang Mei-hsin and Brother Pan Ming-shui were surveying the needs in Umbumbulu, near Durban, they felt that it was not good to make native people dependent on long-term support. Instead, it would be much better to teach them skills so that they could support themselves. They heard that a woman named Gladys wanted to do something to help, so they suggested that she set up a sewing class and bought six sewing machines for her.

Gladys' seventy-year-old mother Anna opened her own house for the sewing class. The students are somewhat like housewives in Taiwan in the sixties, when people did piecework at home for large companies. Gladys showed me several finished garments and explained how much they cost. Currently their monthly income is around R4,000 (US$620).

Gladys spends her entire day at these sewing classes. She said that because the students could not find jobs, they had to create jobs for themselves. Before, they had nothing but poverty. Now with Tzu Chi's help, they at least have hope.