MARCHING ON...with a production line!

Every new week at Gentlecare brings its own surprises and challenges and this week was no exception.

 This 18 year old joined us 4 months ago. His mind had been damaged by a life of difficult family circumstances and drug abuse. His body broken from neglect and his face swollen from malnutrition. When he first arrived his condition had us very concerned.

But, WHERE THERE IS LIFE... THERE IS HOPE!

 

 

Over the past 4 months, with the right food and some tender loving care, as his body began to heal a handsome young man emerged.

Now, ready to rejoin society, he says his goodbyes to the Gentlecare staff.

We wish him a long and blessed life!

 Illness is not the only challenge we face at Gentlecare.

High levels of unemployment in Britstown means that the tragedies we see come in the many packages of poverty. Here, a sick  mommy sits on the floor of her house with her children. The blanket is all they own. What would it feel like to be a sick mother with nothing at all?

We at Gentlecare know we can only do so much with the resources we have. We know that the battlefield is vast and terrible and that if we are to survive we must pick our battles. But, when we are faced with that same struggle in our neighbours and their survival is somehow tangled in the same battle, how can we not fight for them too?   We cannot always do much, but what we can, we do.

 This week we were blessed with a very exciting surprise! Henderike, a past Gentlecare volunteer from the Netherlands, has decided to return. She has already given us three months of her love and labour and has decided to come back and rejoin our team at the end of November for a few more months. We look forward to her arrival!

 

Lastly but certainly not least, in order for Gentlecare to keep caring for our beautiful patients we rely, not only on funding from generous individuals but also on the sales of our line of home-made products.

Here are a few examples of the things we make.  

Hand-made bath products: soaps, bath salts, lotions 







                                                                T- shirts


 



                                                                                       Hand-made Cards for any Occassion





                                                                  Hand-made Angel Bracelets

As Britstown is such a tiny town and very poor, we must try to send our products into the cities and onto the shelves of craft-shops. Unfortunately, this has not been an easy task. If you have any suggestions on how we could go about this or who we could approach we would definitely appreciate the advice. Similarly, if you would like to know more or support us personally with regard to these products please send us an email or leave a comment. We cannot always do much, but this really helps us do what we do!