National Women's Day: Part 2

Unbeknownst to most everyone, the young women in the recovery program had planned their own National Women's Day tribute to Cheryl Pillay, the director of Come Back Mission. They used the letters of Cheryl's name to capture words that embody the spirit and generosity of this amazing woman:


C stood for Couragous
H for Honorable
E represented her Elegance
R her Radiance
Y was defined as Youthful
L equaled Loving


Two and three girls at a time came forward and read a few of their own words to represent each word. One chose to write a poem while another read a Bible verse. Each spoke from the heart with so much admiration for a woman that has inspired them to begin their own recovery from addiction. As a group they then honorably presented Cheryl with a mosaic plaque that they had made themselves from broken bits of tile dug by hand out of the farm soil. It was incredibly moving and everyone wept from joy and gratitude toward a beloved woman in the community.

Cheryl Pillay surely is a one-of-a-kind South African woman and well deserving to be recognized on National Women's Day. Her spirit and the hand of God have guided her to do amazing things in her community - from feeding poverty stricken children with a mobile soup kitchen and providing basic education to pre-school children in Heavenly Valley to helping young men and women recovery from drug addiction. I am so honored to have spent my first National Women's Day in South Africa with her and so proud to be a member of the Come Back Mission family.

Thank you, Cheryl, for all you.