环球英语 — 628：A Home for Children
Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Joshua Leo
Voice 2
And I'm Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
At five thirty in the morning 250 children wake from sleep at the Botshabelo orphanage. These children clean their rooms and then wash their bodies to get ready for the new day. The children go to school and when they are finished, they play games together. These children do not have parents. They are orphans. They live together in a village for orphans near Johannesburg, South Africa. But one woman treats all these children like she is their mother. Her name is Marion Cloete. Today's Spotlight is on Marion and the work she and her family have done to help orphaned children.
Voice 2
Over twenty years ago, Marion Cloete lived in Johannesburg, South Africa. Marion was a therapist. She treated patients with mental problems. Marion and her husband Con had a very easy life. They lived in a nice home. They had three daughters, and were very happy. But in Johannesburg at that time, black African people were not treated well. Marion was white. Marion saw the difference between the lives of the wealthy white people and the poor black people.
Voice 1
Marion saw that the laws damaged black families. These were Apartheid laws. Apartheid laws separated white people and black people. Black people did not have the same rights as white people.
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Marion saw that the laws separated black parents and children. She saw important parts of the culture disappearing. Marion dreamed of helping these children. She went back to school to study community development and social issues. While she was studying, Marion decided to start an orphanage in the province of Kwazulu Natal. There was intense fighting happening in this area. Hundreds of people died and many children's parents were killed. She wanted to help.
Voice 1
The Cloetes planned to leave their home in Johannesburg. But when local black school leaders heard about that, they asked the Cloetes to stay. The schools around Johannesburg were facing many problems too. One of the worst problems was that children were walking 180 kilometres between school and home.
Voice 2
The Cloetes were not sure about staying. They thought for a long time about what to do. They decided to stay. And they opened their home to thirty children. They cared for the children. They helped the children get to school and helped them with school work at home.
Voice 1
Many parents, orphans, and poor families came to the Cloetes for help. They asked them to open their own school. But the white people who lived near the Cloetes were not happy. They did not like that so many black orphans were living at the Cloetes house. They did not want a school in their neighbourhood.
Voice 2
But the Cloetes could not end their work. So they decided to leave their large home. They left their swimming pool. They left their servants and friends. And they started an orphanage and school.
Voice 1
The Cloetes used all the money they had to buy a forty hectare farm one hundred kilometres northwest of Johannesburg. They turned metal buildings into houses and classrooms. Marion taught all the students. Con managed the business side of the school. All three of the Cloete's daughters went to this new school. The Cloete's named the school "Botshabelo". Botshabelo means "place of rest and safety" in the local Tswana Language.
Voice 2
More people heard about Botshabelo. Soon more children were coming to the orphanage. Many of the children's parents died from AIDS. Hundreds of thousands of people die every year from AIDS in South Africa. Often, the children are left alone with no one to care for them. The Cloetes wanted to give a home to these children. Today, the orphanage is home to about 250 children.
Voice 1
In 2001 some local families were illegally forced from their homes. They came to the Cloetes for help. Soon, they found a place to live at the orphanage. They helped form the Botshabelo village. When the children at the orphanage finish school, they also can live in this village.
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The village now is home to about one thousand people. There is a medical clinic and a farm to grow plants and raise animals. The Cloetes also plan to start a business to sell products to people on the road near the village.
Voice 2
Con Cloete tells about why he and his wife have helped people in this way.
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"All this came about by caring for people's main needs, not all their needs, just the main ones. This is what comes to life when trying to stop poverty."
Voice 1
The Cloetes have promised to help anyone who needs it. It does not matter how old they are, where they come from, or what color their skin is. They want to help create the perfect South African village. Everyone who lives in the Botshabelo village helps to reach this goal.
Voice 2
Marion and Con's three daughters and their husbands also live and work in the village. The Cloete's grandchildren go to the Botshabelo school. Marion treats every child at the orphanage like they are her own children. She loves them. She cares for them when they are sick and helps them grow up to become strong adults. Marion believes that caring for these children is her life's work.
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"As my children grow older, I turn around and there is a new one in the bed. It is a gift. I will do that until I think I will fall over and they will just carry me away."
Voice 1
The Cloete's work is also the subject of a documentary film. Filmmakers from the United States learned of the Bothshabelo village and wanted to share the story with more people. The film is called "Angels in the Dust"
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The filmmakers also worked with the Cloetes to create a new way for people to support the work of the village. The women of the Botshabelo village make beautiful bracelets. People wear the bracelets on their wrists. Wherever the film is shown, people sell the bracelets. They also sell them on the internet. All the money from these bracelets goes back to help the work of the Cloetes.
Voice 1
The Botshabelo village is true to its name. It is a place of rest and safety for many people, including the Cloetes. The Cloetes left their easy life in Johannesburg to help those who need help. But if you ask Marion, she will tell you that she has never been happier.
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