Anyone want a son? 

Or perhaps a younger brother? Daniel’s father was Sudanese and returned to Sudan soon after his son was born (1979), never to be seen again. His mother belonged to the Kalenjin, a numerically lesser ethnic group living in the highlands of the Rift Valley in Kenya, internationally famous for its long distance runners. The Kalenjin are a Nilotic ethnic group and one may easily detect Nilotic features in Daniel’s appearance.  There are also Kalenjin living in Tanzania and Daniel’s mother made a new life for herself in that country advising him that it would be better for her if he remained in Kenya in the care of his uncle. Daniel’s uncle had a large family of his own but Daniel was a good student and picked tea on one of the large plantations in order to pay his school fees at Kapsoit Secondary School at Kericho. 

At the secondary school Daniel (not his real name) made friends with some Adventist students and attended church with them and this became his family. He was baptized in 2002 at Cheptinya SDA church. After completing high school with good results he found employment in Nairobi.   There were tribal problems in Kenya and life was not easy. (The author noticed in a report from Reuters on the Internet that even in 2008 an ethnic battle raged in the town of Chepilat killing 900 people and displacing ¼ million. See also TIME June 8, 2009:28). It was Daniel’s dream to become a mathematics teacher but education was expensive and he could not afford it. He had heard that one could earn better money in South Africa and perhaps, with good grades, one might get a bursary. With his little savings he decided to make his way South. Although he was born in Kenya he was unable to get a passport due to his father’s Sudanese nationality. Without papers or passport he paid a truck driver to take him to Dar es Salaam. His ability to speak Swahili and English were a distinct asset throughout his travels.  His next stop was Maputo, Mozambique, where he spent three days. 

The most hair-raising border crossing was from Mozambique into South Africa. Those who did not have a passport or papers had to get off the truck some kilometers from the border. By this time Daniel’s entire savings had run out but a Divine Power had a Hand over this young man. A kindly Malawian had done this trip before and took Daniel under his wing. The two “footed” through the bush and sympathetic Mozambicans pointed out the directions (at a price, paid by the Malawian). It was a scary 30 km hike, sleeping in the bush, not knowing what dangers lurked. Wild animals? Pythons? People wanting money? Mambas? 

When the two were back on the main road between Komatipoort and Pretoria, there were eager taxi drivers looking for passengers. The Malawian’s name was Petros and he paid both fares. When they reached Marabastad, near Pretoria, Petros told Daniel that he had to leave him now. Petros advised  that the first thing for Daniel to do was to go to Home Affairs and get documentation or else he would be arrested. Daniel told Petros that he would never forget him. He has tried since to contact Petros on a cell number without success. So Daniel was in Marabastad, unable to speak Sipedi or Afrikaans, no money and hungry.  Someone gave him R2 and he had no idea what its value was. Could it buy him some bread? He slept on and under cardboard boxes outside Home Affairs for four days. Police came and, by a miracle, did not ask for papers. Desperately hungry, he accepted a job from a Tanzanian selling caps laid out on the ground.  Daniel lived on bread and water. The Tanzanian suggested that it might be easier to get papers in Cape Town. 

He arrived in Cape Town at night and, with nowhere to go, stayed at the bus station till morning. Finding his way to Home Affairs by 6 am he found it full of long lines of people. Besides the hunger, the next hardest thing was that there was nowhere to wash. It was Friday and a Ghanaian advised him to come back on Monday and be prepared to sleep there. On Monday an official said to the long line of people “come back tomorrow”. This happened over and over. Again he found a temporary job selling curios at the side of the road. Finally in July 2004 he was given temporary asylum seeker papers. He continued selling and saving. While studying tourism at INTEC in 2006 he was robbed and that ended his studies. In faith (2007) he applied at SAQA (South African Qualifying Authority) for acceptance at university and had the hope of receiving a study bursary. He received clearance from SAQA (because of good high school marks) costing R320 and also from HESA (Higher Education of S.A.) and was accepted as a student at the University of the Western Cape in 2008. He was advised to study nursing. He then applied for a bursary and was granted this by the HCI Foundation. This covers his tuition costs only. He stayed with one friend during 2008 but since it was illegal for the friend to “take in” a roommate he had to find other accommodation for 2009. 

Daniel passed the final 2008 nursing exams with a B aggregate. His bursary did not cover the cost of registration at the beginning of 2009 so Claremont Church Relief Aid helped him with that amount. A Ugandan Pentecostal friend, Thomas, who has irregular jobs, shares his room with Daniel. Claremont church has helped with groceries most Sabbaths and Daniel shares the groceries with Thomas. Sabbath May 23 the Claremont church welfare cupboard was bare and Eugenie (welfare leader and head of our Relief Aid Project) again made an appeal for grocery gifts to the congregation. I later phoned Daniel  to ask how he was making out with food. He said he was OK. I told him to phone me if he was in trouble. He phoned on Wednesday 27^th. I asked him what he had had for breakfast and he said “A cup of coffee.”  

When I fetched him from Observatory (where he and Thomas live) and he shook hands with me, I noticed that his hand was ice cold and he looked a little like a wilted maize plant. He relished the simple meal of brown rice and home-cooked beans with tossed salad and enjoyed a second helping. While the nursing student was washing the dishes I noticed the upswing of mood and demeanor and he himself commented: “the glucose level has risen remarkably!” 

His grocery needs were simple: Some fresh stuff: cabbage R6.66, tomatoes R7.99, a plastic bag of apples R9.99, 2 onions R4.71. “Would you like bananas or a plastic bag of naartjies for R7?” “The naartjies are many for the same price as seven bananas – I’ll take the naartjies”. Groceries: brown bread R5.99, red speckled sugar beans (2 packets) R15.98, sunflower oil R11.99, sugar R9.29, sunlight soap R5.59, maize meal for two weeks R18.99.  

The next day I received an email (varsity students have access to email): Subject: Receive much greetings.  Message: “I do hope you are fine same to me. I am writing to thank you for your support and hospitality you showed to me. Thomas is also greeting you very much. I am going on well with my exams. Kind regards, Daniel”.