Meet the Sgwentu family. From left to right, they are Boy, Evelyn, Sipho, Nonswakazi, Teresa (my wife, or Auntie T as they call her), and Thania. They are a new breed of South African – the middle-class black South African.
Ethnically Xhosa, Nonswakazi and Boy have struggled and fought their way out of servitude, poverty, and the townships. In everything they have done, they have broken down barriers, made new choices, and defined new directions for themselves, their family, and their country.
The Sgwentus are an incredibly warm, friendly, intelligent, and interesting family. They have welcomed us into their hearts and home, and love is behind everything they do. I am privileged to call them friends, and honored to have them call me Uncle J.
In the coming days, I’ll give you capsule biographies of each of them, but I wanted you to first see them as a family. I hope their stories touch each of you as they have me.
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For more information about our trip, see South Africa .