goGo Beatric Madlebe

Beatrice Madlebe (70) is a ‘bible woman’ for her church in Mbekweni near the town of Paarl. Her task is to go house to house as an evangelist, speaking about Jesus. But she soon realised that there was no food in many of the homes she visited. “The mothers would sit looking at me and the children’s mouths were dry. They asked me what use my Christ was to them without food.”

Near the farms surrounding Mbekweni, Ma Madlebe found children of seasonal workers who would go without food for a day or even two. With money provided by her working husband, she ran a soup kitchen for them for several years until he died. Her attempts to sustain the soup kitchen beyond his death, funded from the own pension, were made ever harder by the deaths of twelve of her husband’s children from a previous marriage. Tuberculosis, alcohol abuse and less specific diagnoses took their toll.

Eventually, she found herself caring for seven grandchildren from her husband’s three surviving children as well. Although each child receives a child care grant, Ma Madlebe doesn’t see a cent of the money, as it is paid directly to the parents. None of them pass it on to her. She supports all seven children on a monthly pension of R940. Recently, her neighbour’s daughter was admitted to hospital. Her prospects of recovery are uncertain. This means that another child has been added to her list of wards.

But her concerns are not for herself. She weeps as she talks about the children she can no longer support through her soup kitchen. She still goes house to house, although “all I have to offer is love”.

Recently, Ma Madlebe became a loveLife goGogetter, one of 500 grandmothers across South Africa trained and supported in assisting 20 children each. They will be assisted to communicate with young people about HIV and help prevent physical and sexual abuse. They will also be trained to advocate effectively for school-attendance, access to grants and food. Her stipend of R300 will help her bring needy children to the welfare office, so that they can apply for food assistance and apply for grants.

Together with three other grannies of Mbekweni, Ma Madlebe is determined to both social worker and bible woman at the same time. She thinks her God expects nothing less.