Meet Sylvia. Sylvia is a single mother of three children; a daughter of her own and two other orphans whom she has looked after for the past 5 years. She lives in a small house in Haniville, a township located outside of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. She has limited formal education, no family support and very little opportunity to find a job.

If you had asked her three years ago what her biggest aspiration was, it would have been to find a job that would allow her to feed her children and send them to school, hopefully offering them a life better than her own. If you were to ask her the same question today, it would be radically different. Now, as the supervisor for a rose geranium production unit (funded by the Golder Trust for Orphans), she is making plans to send her daughter to law school, is finalizing the secondary education of both the orphans she cares for, is building two new rooms onto her house and is a source of inspiration for those that she meets.

Such is the magic of Walk in the Light, a catalyst for transformation in an often dark and hopeless world. Located on just over 10ha of land, Walk in the Light is a shining example of how a simple act of goodness can have a profound impact on the lives of those in need. Bruce Taylor, who started the operation more than 3 years ago, has facilitated the creation of nothing less than a haven. Walking through the rose geranium fields where sweet scents float on the air, or the vegetable gardens where the spinach is vibrant and the cabbages look like giant, beautiful roses with their great furling leaves, it is impossible not to feel the energy and love exuding from the land. This is the land that employs 6 women, all like Sylvia, who in turn support 16 orphans between them, and facilitates the production of food parcels that provide a vital source of food security to more than 18 families in the local community.

But this is only where it begins. With rose geranium currently under production, there are plans to purchase a small distillation unit that will enable the extraction of essential oils, to be used for sales within local markets. This provides opportunity for greater employment for local community members, and for the expansion of the orphan support base that has already begun.

In fact, it is the hope of helping the children that drives the whole operation. Work has begun on establishing a small crèche that will cater to the needs of often neglected children in the area, complete with bathrooms and a small kitchen, and one cannot help but laugh at the smiling elephant peering at you from its portrait on the outside walls. There is also a library, recycling bins, a jungle gym and even a climbing wall.

To be in the presence of such dedication and commitment to transforming lives is a humbling experience. It serves as a reminder to the desperate needs of so many people,
so many children abandoned to face a harsh world on their own. It also serves as an inspiration, through the realization that effort does make a difference and to see the joy on Sylvia’s face as she speaks of her life is true testimony to this. If ever there was a doubt that darkness and tribulation could be overcome, one only needs to spend an afternoon at Walk in the Light to be reinvigorated, and to see how dreams can be translated into action.

Picture:

1: Sylvia  2: Bruce Taylor and the local women involved in the geranium oils project  3: Painted wall at Walk in the Light  4: Vegetable garden at Walk in the Light