Windhoek – A group of 10 women from Power House Ministry at Eros under Pastor Carvin Isaks happily got a chance to help Cristofine Garoës, who is a TB sufferer.
Cristofine felt dejected after she was diagnosed as having TB of the bones, referred to scientifically as Tuberculosis Spondylitis, from which she suffered terribly for two years.
The women of God started off early Saturday morning when they drove to Cristofine’s rusty old shack to collect her dirty blankets and clothes and volunteered to wash and return them to her in a clean condition.
The group then met again at around 13h00 at Cristofine’s shack where they started cleaning her yard and inside her shack.
The group also donated two mattresses, two blankets, toiletries, tins, clothes, jackets for the cold winter, and food including vegetables to nourish Cristofine.
Group coordinator Asnat Neumbo said: “It makes you realize you should be thankful for what you have. Go out there and show love to others with what you have.”
She said the group would concentrate on Cristofine’s condition. “We will take her to hospital on Mondays for treatment and we will make sure she completes her TB treatment. We will try and renovate her shack and build a toilet close to her shack. Buy her a small solar panel and a lamp so that she can charge her phone and lighten up her place. Our mission is to see her in a different environment and in a sustainable way,” Neumbo said.
Inez Kaura one of the group members said: “Such acts are really humbling. Unless you don’t go out there and observe such conditions, my message to others is to go out and make a difference in people’s lives – people who are in pain or unable. The little you do can make a big difference.”
Clara Baitsewe also could not contain her joy saying she feels good and proud they helped Cristofine.
“I hope this is not going to end here and I really hope this project will be a success. It’s not only the government to make changes – we are the government as well so we must start looking at such conditions,” said Baitsewe.
Cristofine almost gave up on her situation and was always lying on her old mattress in her rusty shack thinking about her condition. But with a smile on her face and looking happily she said: “I am truly happy now that at least people showed mercy and came to help. I got most of the necessary assistance. Now I can cook and have water to drink and take a bath. In my heart I feel very happy to see people in front of me helping me.”
“We will try and get the 22-year-old son a job for him at least to help his mother in future and we will also try to register her nine-year-old boy in a school with a hostel. The only thing we need is his birth certificate to try and enroll him,” stated Neumbo.
by Ndamonako Iita