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Christmas festivities
Nothing beats the feeling of spending Christmas with your loved ones, making up for time spent apart during the year.
However, not everyone gets to spend time with their families. Some, like the citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), who were pushed out of their country by war in the eastern DRC, are spending this precious time far from their families, some of whom are in refugee camps, while little is known of the whereabouts of those back at home.
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Today, some of them had a church service in Mahikeng with their countrymen, to celebrate this day.
Lugandala Surumbe, who comes from DRC but found home in South Africa, says gatherings of this nature are a part of memorable moments reminding them of their celebratory ways back home.
“At home, we also celebrate it the same way as this, because us, as believers, we believe that today is the day of Christ. Wherever I will be, whether at home or whether here, so when we are at home we celebrate it like this. We go to church first in the morning, then after church we start our celebration. Like coming together, mostly we cook, in celebration like this we cook,” says Surumbe.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere is filled with hope and gratitude, as Secile Zuwena Shinga attended the service for a first time.
“It was very great and wonderful to be here today at church. It will help because there are certain things that are happening, like people getting into accidents, getting beaten, and into fights. But in the church we are protected, and we are able to learn and hear preachings to be able to help us overcome challenges that are coming for the other year,” says Shinga.
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