James and I met Vuyo when he came to watch the Sidewalk programme in Gugulethu when he was 13 years old. He had heard about this programme and had come along to see what it was. Vuyo immediately loved it and asked to join our teenage leadership programme. During that time, he became a Christian and joined a local church. He was a faithful young leader and attended the Sidewalk site in Gugulethu every Thursday. He quickly shone as someone with a personality full of fun and laughter; someone who always brought smiles to children. One programme a week was not enough for Vuyo, and he decided to join another Sidewalk programme in the KTC area. After a year of his faithful participation in the KTC team, we learnt that he went without his school lunch and saved the school lunch money to pay for a taxi from school to get to the KTC programme in time. This showed Vuyo’s heart for the children, which never changed in all the years he was part of MKA.
As well as always smiling and having fun, Vuyo cared about people. Vuyo was a father to many and on Father’s Day received many messages from young people thanking him for the role he played in their lives. When parents were having problems with their children, Vuyo was often contacted by the parents to help talk to their child as they knew the children listened and respected Vuyo.
Vuyo became part of the leadership team in Cape Town with Ncedisa and Unathi and brought much value in this role. He even travelled to Uganda with James to encourage the staff there and he loved seeing the work of MKA in Uganda.
It has been wonderful to be a part of Vuyo’s life. Seeing him grow and develop as a teenager and become a responsible staff member that others looked up to, has made James and I proud. There has been much grief and many tears at Vuyo’s passing, but we know he is with Jesus and one day we will meet again. But he is missed and the joy he brought each day to the office is irreplaceable. There were over 500 people at Vuyo’s funeral, and we heard over and over again of the difference he had made in children’s lives. Adults who had been part of MKA in their childhood and teenage years, and even parents of children, came to say goodbye to Vuyo. It was a powerful encouragement to us all to keep sharing the love of Jesus with children and teenagers as it does make a difference and helps guide young people in a positive direction.
We ask that you pray for James and I and the team in Cape Town as we grieve the loss of our dear friend, but continue the work that we all love. We want to impact thousands of young people and see them become all they were created to be and transform their communities and nation.
With much love to you all
Janet, James and all at MKA
