One of the main aims of the CAST Ministry is to help those in our communities grow, develop and be a guiding light for others. One of these people is 15-year-old Naledi Dladla who shares her testimony about how her life has been transformed since joining CAST:
My Name is Naledi Nthabiseng Dladla, I am 15 Years old and I am a Christian, a child of GOD. I live in the rural Appelsbosch Mission Area with my granny, aunts, brothers, and sisters – one big family. I participate at CAST as a volunteer for the Children’s Holiday club, Sunday school, and I interpret for the American Missions Teams. Before I joined CAST, my life was a mess. I could not understand it.
When I was young, I had a lot of anger about my Mom. She passed away when I was very young, so I don’t know her. I was told by my dad and grandmother that she got sick and then she passed on. That hurt me a lot, because I could hear my friends and other children talk about their moms, and me knowing very well that I can’t talk about my mom because she no longer exists on earth.
So I heard about CAST from my Sunday School teacher, Uncle Fortune (former CAST Community Co-ordinator at Appelsbosch Baptist Community Church), who also worked at CAST. He is the one who got me to be close with people who work at CAST. One of my favourites is Thandi. I started in 2017 by going to Camp with other girls whereby we can share our stories, views and ideas.
I got involved at CAST because I have seen them help a lot in my community. I am a person who has a big heart, who loves to help, and who want the best for the community. CAST has made big change in people’s lives my community, especially for girls…if I didn’t attend Girls Camp, now I could be a person who drinks alcohol and abuses substances (drugs). CAST has made a big difference in my life.
I have an older brother from my mother’s side who was abusing very strong substances. He would come home drunk and high by weed. One day, I decided to take my life by drinking alcohol and smoking weed, but in my ears there was this voice that was saying, ‘’no Naledi, don’t ever do that. What are you trying to do? GOD has big plans for you. You’ve got a lot of things to do to make your family proud.’’
Then I told myself that I should speak about this, I can’t just keep quiet and watch this boy hitting me and insulting me with all kinds of words. I went to uncle Fortune and asked him about these Camps…. I asked him how much money I could pay then he told me. He was telling us that Camp is where girls gathered and talk about everything.
I asked them at home and they agreed. When I got there, I met Thandi, a most wonderful humble woman. She was the person I knew to talk about everything to because she was the one who understood my feelings and she still does. I told her everything that happened to me, that I was almost raped. I couldn’t tell my family because I was scared.
Thandi prayed for me, and told me that it is not over until GOD says so… she told me that I could pray to GOD and tell him everything that I am facing or that I’ll be facing. We prayed together and after that I realised that GOD can be with us all the time.
That’s how CAST has made a difference in my life. What I learned from CAST is that it is important to be patient, brave and ask for help from people who can help you, and to give back to those who could need your help, because that’s what GOD created us for, that we help each other as His children.
I would like to get more involved at CAST, and become a partner, because it is so amazing to be part of people who are the same as you, who know what’s wrong and right, people who don’t count how much they’ve helped that particular community. So I would like to be a member, be there most of the time and learn more about being a helper.
Like in my church where I attend at Appelsbosch Baptist Community Church, my Pastor always preaches to us to help the poor and people who need help, even it’s not the poor but people who could need help like at my school. I am the one who knows English in my class, so most of the time I could help them with essays and their writing. I know that I am not a clever person, but then I always tell myself that I am not stupid. That’s what Pastor Dube always tells us to tell ourselves.
CAST has impacted my spiritual journey by encouraging us to trust GOD very much because we live by Him. At Holiday Clubs, they teach us more about Jesus and GOD, memory verses and other verses that tell us more about GOD. That’s how CAST has impacted my spiritual journey.
My dream for the future is to become a lawyer. That wasn’t my dream when I was growing up. I wanted to be a doctor, but as time has passed, I saw that lawyers are people who are liars, not honest in the cases they work on. I have always told myself I will only deal with innocent people and that will depend on their cases.
For me to reach that dream, I have to work hard at school, go to varsity and graduate just like my dad and my older sister who is a doctor. I just wish to ask if you guys pray for me to seek GOD to show me the way forward, and for him to protect me in every way I go. Thank you.
By Naledi Dladla
Be part of the BIG picture and change a girl’s life this Christmas!
This year, CAST is excited to shine a light on our youth development programmes for young women aged between 12 – 18 years old. With your help, we will be raising funds to help our partner churches form communities where girls can thrive, build their resilience and combat gender-based violence.
A donation of R150 per girl will fund their participation in our girls’ conferences, sport, and discipleship programmes for 2020.
Each donor will receive a beautiful #IAm Christmas decoration and card decorated by the girls in our programmes, as well as your piece of the puzzle to make up a picture symbolising our theme, Ubuhle Bembokodo – “the strength and beauty of a woman”
For more information, contact Thandi: thandi@cast.org.za or call (031) 2668830.
#movebeyondcharity #jointhemovement #bepartofthebigpicture #UbuhleBembokodo #girlsempowerment #youthdevelopment
