Lincoln and Jenny - Missionary Associates to South Africa

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Freedom Park and Red Rocks

November 2, 2006
Today I took the Red Rocks team to Freedom Park. It was a very moving experience for them to see such extreme poverty. Every time I go there it is a new experience. This time I spent quite a bit of time talking to one of the care givers, about Freedom Park, her life story, and the plight of the residents of Freedom Park. She told me the story of Freedom Park’s origins for the first time. It is actually a really interesting story. Apparently Freedom Park began when women came to live outside of the mine in order to sell their bodies to the mine workers. The original name of Freedom Park was a word that when translated into English means “women to men.” The local tribal group that was responsible for this area, the Bapututswana (sorry for the misspelling), opposed the women living outside the mine for this purpose. They sent troops to kill the women and burn their shacks. After this continued for some time, the ANC (currently the ruling black political party) sent troops to oppose the Bapututswana. These troops supported the women and fought for them to be able to live there. Apparently the ANC won the struggle and changed the name from “women to men” to “Freedom Park.” I find it very interesting that the origin of Freedom Park basically started around prostitution. They are now reaping the consequences of those actions. Dr. Neil tells us that 70% of pregnant women in Freedom Park are HIV positive. The care giver we were talking to today told us how she came to Freedom Park after fleeing an abusive husband. She found a boyfriend in the mine. (“Boyfriend” is the term that they use to describe what is basically prostitution.) She told us “I got money for the weekend with him and got a disease for the rest of my life in return.” She is HIV positive, has a son in highschool, and a 4 year old daughter. She volunteers her time at the Freedom Park clinic to care for those who are dying of the disease that she will eventually die of.

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