Gold City, Johannesburg (1950s)

hello boys and girls we're off to adventure in Johannesburg in South Africa I'm the skipper Johannesburg is a city of nearly a million people it's the largest commercial and industrial city in all Africa seventy-five years ago you wouldn't have found Johannesburg on any map then gold was discovered a mining camp sprang up and the city just grew around it it is a great market for diamonds wool grain and gold Johannesburg is often called the City of Gold one out of four of its people works underground in the miles of tunnels that run beneath these busy streets these bounds are the tailings from the goldmine they are the earth that is left after the gold has been removed but we have an adventure that is more interesting than gold I want you to meet my friend Lou Ann Parsons a missionary from North America hello mrs. Parsons how do you happen to be a missionary ten thousand miles from home well skipper I could show you better than I could tell you I'd like you to meet a young African friend of mine named Loretta he's 11 years old 5:30 in the morning Loretta is already up working she's making melee meal porridge what's meal a meal like cornmeal mush it's the beautiful breakfast in the brown to home meal Emile porridge of teeth most African children work very hard especially girls don't the boys work yes but not as hard as the girls because parents believe that girls aren't is important and so they do some of the hard work in the home which isn't so important [Music] Loretta's father will eat alone that's the custom she and her mother and the smaller children will eat their breakfast after the father's gone to work we thank thee O Lord for this meal Lauretta her father and mother and their neighbors belong to the Bantu people Lauretta lives in a suburb of johannesburg which is called a location only African people live in these locations [Music] so long mom so long mother [Music] red his father is a factory worker he leaves home every morning at six o'clock and he joins thousands of other workers who all take the commuter trains into the cities you see African workers do not have their own homes in the city if they live in their own homes they must live in one of the locations like Orlando where Loretta lives before Loretta goes to school she must wash the breakfast dishes [Music] it is not yet 8 o'clock but the red is off for school no school bus is here but she's lucky her school is just across the road you can see it we don't yet have nearly enough schools for everybody who might attend [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] isn't that a Christian here mrs. Parsons yes skipper this is a Christian school started by Christian missionaries it's now a community school under a school board but they begin each morning with a hymn and a prayer now boys there are so many children in Loretta's school that her class meets in the church how far can loretta go in school oh she might go through high school will all these children go to high school oh no not one in 20 will go through high school education is not compulsory for African children one of Loretta's regular classes is instruction in highway safety [Music] and this demonstration that shows you how gravity the belt in our street outside now you must just a third leg elephant into town you'll find the placement recoil imperfection [Music] [Applause] wait there's group now what's that oh they're like the Girl Scouts and this is one place where Loretta gets to play [Music] there's very little time for Loretta to play when school is out she must go home and do housework and help take care of her younger brothers and sisters [Music] one thing you read it looks forward to is going once a week to the Donaldson Community Center what's the Donaldson Community Center it's a social Center and the idea for it came from a Christian missionary of North America and hundreds of children come to this Center each week center is famous for its pennywhistle groups pennywhistle's our little tin flute and are very popular among african boy [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] brad has learned a Zulu dance it's a dance from the story about the daughter of a chief who gets lost in the forest and the dance is one of rejoicing and Thanksgiving because she's been [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] skipper I always like to visit Loretta's Sunday school because these boys and girls are so interested in learning about Christianity and there's such a lot of fun that's right she wanted to go back to the place she slept so long ago and what was it she wanted her daughters-in-law to do that's right now let's act it out and find out what the daughters-in-law said to Naomi about their decisions now it's my time to go back to my book you two you must go back to your father we don't want to pull away we want to go with you but no I don't want to go away but I want to go with you why are people are my people you are God is Michael thank you you can how many churches do you have in this mission well there are over hundred churches but I visit about 3,500 schools you have any trouble getting teachers what's ahead for Loretta misses parking well the red is a bright child perhaps she'll be a nurse or a teacher or maybe a social worker what about all these other children some of them will be professional people too perhaps some will be doctors but most of them will be laborers in industry or servants in homes but whatever they are I believe they need to know about Jesus so that they can live courageously in this big city with all its problems that's why I'm here as a missionary and that's why the others are here boys and girls this ends our adventure in Johannesburg in South Africa be sure to tune in next week when we'll be off to adventure again in Africa goodbye [Music]