We got to know Lawrence Arendse through Charmaine, our late domestic worker. He lives in Capricorn, an informal settlement near Muizenberg, and stops by occasionally for groceries or a bit of help. Lawrence never exploits our support. Somehow, he manages to look dignified even when he is carrying bags of cans, I observed. He is quiet, respectful, and never entitled. “I just come by when I really need help,” he once said.
In the rubble of loss, God rebuilt hope one day at a time. Scars from the start
Born in 1975 in Bishop Lavis, Lawrence grew up in a crowded home with his mother, stepfather, siblings, and extended family. He never knew his father. His stepfather, he says, “was strict, but not unfair”. Lawrence’s first scars came at age…
