A Long Walk for Children

Our group of 44 enjoyed the lunch at Subway at the 

Waterfront.

Siyathemba, Zimkhita and Simnikiwe enjoy the ferry ride 

with Table Mountain in the background.

Little Phelisa gets a cat nap on the ferry ride in Sallie's arms.

Once we got to Robben Island, we went on a 30 minute 

bus tour of the island. Prior to it becoming a prison, 

Robben Island was a leper colony.  You can imagine how 

excited our staff was to see the place of the imprisonment 

of their hero, Nelson Mandela.  It is moving for any visitor, 

but for people who grew up under Apartheid, it takes on 

a very personal meaning.  I was glad to see and share their 

joy and excitement.

We visited the limestone quarry where black political 

prisoners had to work every day with hand tools.  This 

rock pile started when at a reunion of apartheid era 

political prisoners, Nelson Mandela marked the spot 

where the first digging took place at the quarry and 

each rock thereafter was placed by fellow political 

prisoners. It was very moving.

After departing the Robben Island tour bus, we took this 

photo before taking the last steps of the walk to Mandela's 

cell.  Only 500 steps or so to go after taking an estimated 

1.5 million from Open Arms to Cape Town.

Heading toward Cell Block B, Cell 7 of the maximum security 

prison on Robben Island that housed prisoners whose major 

crime was working for justice for all people.  

I was proud to take the final steps with children from Open 

Arms at my side. It was very meaningful to do so.

The tours of the prison at Robben Island are given by 

ex-political prisoners.  Our guide, Mr. Sparks, was 

imprisoned for 7 years and hails from the Eastern Cape 

near Open Arms.  He was extremely informative, here 

seen speaking to us outside of Mandela's cell.

We began our brief celebration of the end of the walk 

in the prison courtyard outside Nelson Mandela's cell 

by saying the Lord's Prayer led by our children.  Each 

member of our party held a single long-stem rose which
would later be placed outside the cell with a prayer for 

peace and for our ministry to orphaned children.