TLW tour to Soweto (23 - 26 April 2001)

It was to the historically famous township of Soweto, that 6 TLW-ers went for a 3-day tour of 5 schools. Ralph, Sbongeleni, Andries and Jerusha drove up to Soweto in the new TLW vehicle. There, they were joined by Jabu and Viyeka.

Starting at Phafogang High School, the team was given the liberty of visiting each class in the school to share the message. The response was overwhelmingly positive. We also visited two other schools in Soweto, where so many of the students came to us with questions, stories and mostly encouragement to continue with the spreading of TLW.

Many teachers expressed surprise that the TLW team did not need extra supervision to control problem classes. The learners were spellbound by the message, and there was no trouble. Rather, the message was well received and we as a team were fired with heartfelt questions, which we were glad to answer.

When we visited an outskirt of Soweto, the sad state of the learners struck each of us deeply. One girl came to a TLW-er and asked whether she could sign the card if she was HIV positive. We told her that she definitely could. Another told us that she was pregnant and was being pressurised to abort the baby before her parents found out. Yet another cried as she told of the horror of a boyfriend who beats her when she refuses to sleep with him. His reason? She has his baby.

The message of TLW has shown again and again that there is always hope, always another chance. You can always start again. The many cards that were signed bore witness yet again to the rising popularity of TLW.

Sadly, we only had four days in Soweto. These days were packed with presentations, which left us pretty exhausted. However, it was worth it - and all of us would not have minded staying another week for more meetings.

A heartfelt thanks to the team that left their jobs to go for TLW. Also a big thanks to our great photographers. We are the new revolution and there are so many youngsters out there who don’t know about us, but are eager to join us. Let’s up ‘n at ‘em!