CAPE TOWN, South Africa (BP) -- It's hard not to be happy around
12-year-old Olwetu. She greets visitors with an infectious smile and
sparkling eyes. Usually surrounded by friends, the outgoing South
African seventh-grader is constantly smiling, laughing and talking.
But
this is not typical behavior among Olwetu's peers -- hopeless is the
best word to describe youth from the nation's Xhosa minority in the
slums of Cape Town.
Most young people here must deal with a
myriad of issues -- abuse, violence, drugs, gangs, rape, loss of one or
both parents, poor education, HIV/AIDS, poverty. These problems have
far-reaching tentacles affecting every family in the township.
"We began to see students that were asking ... 'What do I do when I've
been raped by my uncle?' 'What do I do when my father and mother are
abusing me?' 'I don't have any food at home.' 'My mom and dad don't have
work.' 'My mom and dad are dead and I live with my aunt,'" said Bruce
Erickson, a Southern Baptist missionary in Cape Town.
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