Groutville pastor is father to the lost children

Working to eradicate the culture of waiting for hand-outs, pastor and operations manager for Vision 153 Patrick Bilai pours his energy into empowering children and adults in Groutville to help themselves out of poverty.

“Lockdown has exposed our weaknesses and more than ever we need to be self-sustaining. We must have our own solutions to our own problems,” said Bilai, who was raised in rural Zimbabwe where his family grew their own fruit and vegetables and kept livestock.

“No one was going to help us so we had to help ourselves.”

Bilai arrived in Thembeni, Groutville, two years ago after his business in Durban collapsed and he came north in search of a fresh start and joined Vision 153, the Ballito-based non-profit organisation where he now works to help the poor, especially widows and orphans.

The father of three has become a father figure for countless local children.

“While my business was still operational in Durban, children knocked on my door asking for food. My wife and I would cook for them and within a few days, more than 100 children were coming to our home.”

Through his church, Thembeni Children’s Church, he started rabbit farming and teaching children practical skills like carpentry and how to fix bicycles.

During lockdown they were able to get two laptops, wi-fi and books to help the children keep up with their schoolwork.

Bilai teaches children – many live in child-headed homes – practical life skills they can use to support their families.

“These projects show children that there is a lot that they can do to uplift themselves and their community.”

The projects are sustainable because they do not require a large capital and are simple to manage, once you know how.

“For example, rabbit droppings are very good fertilizer for vegetables, which in turn make good food for rabbits. We look after the rabbits and veggies and they in turn look after us,” he said, a firm believer in the ‘one home, one garden’ principal.

Lindokuhle Mkhize (13) said the skills he had learnt had enabled him to earn an income.

“We feed the rabbits and we are also taught how to make benches. We sell them to get money for ourselves and families,” said Mkhize.

He said he had learnt that he had a responsibility to “become the change he wants to see” in his community.

“I now know that I don’t need to be asked to help someone (in need).”

Bilai is building a church and resource centre in Charlottedale township and hopes to see another built in Thembeni.

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