Genesis Youth: ‘Making a difference’
The ministries have reached into various parts of the local community.
Being involved in the lives of others and making a life-changing difference for the good, is what motivates Richard Harrell, the operations manager at Genesis Youth, which forms part of Norwegian Settlers’ Church.
He was the main speaker at a recent fund-raising dinner held at Umthunzi Hotel and Conference, presented by Genesis Youth and held in aid of its five community enhancement projects.
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These projects are the Youth Centre, GAP (Genesis Afterschool Programme), W4AL (Work 4 A Living), Marburg Community Gym and the music academy.
Richard explained them briefly, as follows.
GAP: “Many of the children in our communities are left unattended after school with little or no parental involvement. We offer healthy snacks, homework, help and love.”
Work 4 A Living: “Unemployed people from the community are trained in proper workplace ethics and behaviours, ultimately matching them with local businesses which are in need of quality employees.”
Gyms: “The goal is to get young people off the streets and into a healthy environment, building relationships and doing life with them, yielding great results.”
Music Academy: “This gives the community a chance to study or improve its talents, giving them a tangible purpose in life.”
Youth Centre: “This is the operational hub for many of the community impact ministries.”
During the evening at Umthunzi there were song items by Chad van Niekerk and Lizanne Nair, other testimonies and stories via video and a stirring, yet humorous, testimony by Kabelo Moche.
He shared how a promising rugby and athletics career had been cut short by a horrific car accident in his home town of Mahikeng in North West Province.
However, despite the injuries, near-death experience and long recovery process, Kabelo said it had eventually led him to the South Coast via the rugby academy – where he now found himself doing something completely different.
Richard is the son of missionaries, having schooled initially in Cape Town but finishing up back in the United States.
He later qualified as a pilot, but in time found the pull to the mission field was very strong.
For this reason he found himself flying into places like Lesotho as part of Mission Aviation Fellowship.
One particular incident would prove to be a watershed moment for Richard.
A woman who had gone into early labour subsequently lost her child.
Richard, as the pilot, did all he could for her, flying her from the remote area to a hospital and then back again, sadly with the dead baby.
When he had to drop her off at the rural clinic, alone, and fly the plane back to the airport, he realised he wanted to be more involved in making a direct impact in the lives of others.
He took his wife Megan and young family and worked in Lesotho for a period of time.
At some point he met Trevor Downham, the pastor at Norwegian Settlers’, who offered him a position heading up some of the youth work locally.
Since March 2013, Richard and his family – he and Megan have a foster son from Lesotho and four of their own boys – have been very involved and play a vital role in the church’s many ministries.
He encouraged the community to partner with Genesis Youth and help make a difference.
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