Friday, July 24, 2009

Trip to Nkosi's Haven

After a very long flight to Johannesburg, South Africa, I finally had a chance to visit Nkosi's Haven! Bianca was not able to join me but I did enjoy taking two of my children there. 4Life became a supporter of Nkosi's Haven several years ago through the work of two of our distributors, Bernice Mannon and Bonnie Hornsby. The Haven is the brain child of Gail Johnson and her adopted son Nkosi Johnson, who had the vision and fortitude to build these outstanding facilities for HIV-positive orphans and some HIV-positive mothers. Although Nkosi himself died several years ago after a long battle with AIDS, his legacy lives on through Gail and the Haven.

It was a marvelous experience to visit the three different locations that Gail has built over the last decade. The first is a property with two homes, one for older teenage boys and the other for teenage girls. Each of the children has their own responsibilities for the upkeep of their home. In fact, two girls were cooking a breakfast of fried eggs when I walked in. All of the children were respectful and busy doing different tasks. We also met several volunteers who spend their days teaching the children important life skills, such as computer proficiency.

The second location is called the "Village" and lies a few miles outside the city center. This is the newest of the facilities and is in the midst of new building construction that was financed by Qantas Airways and other donors. In their small hospital, we saw a few ill mothers and a very tiny baby who was doing well. Dr. Susan Black, an American physician, is the volunteer medical director and a big believer in 4Life Transfer Factor®. The third facility is situated on 12 acres about 20 miles outside the city and is called Nkosi's Haven 4Life Farm, which 4Life purchased for the orphanage several years ago.

At Nkosi's Haven, Gail houses nearly 200 children and some mothers. The children were happy and excited to meet us. All in all, it was a wonderful visit. Foundation 4Life® continues to support Nkosi's Haven with donations and 4Life products. We love to provide help where we can as part of our Together, Building People® philosophy.

David Lisonbee and Gail Johnson at the entrance of Nkosi's Haven 4Life Farm

Nkosi's Haven children cutting and styling hair