While Saldanha Bay may be more than two hours and 160 km away, the case of seven-year-old Joslin Smith has touched the hearts and lives of many around the province.
On Friday 23 February, Broken Crayons Still Colour hosted a mass prayer event at the Kilimanjaro Street Community Hall from 10:00 to 11:00 calling on divine intervention to help bring Joslin home safely.
Ursula Peters, the founder of the organisation, has been involved in several missing children cases, organising marches, prayers and search parties, mobilised for what became high-profile cases, including 11-year-old Stasha Arendse from Tafelsig and three-year-old Courtney Pieters from Elsies River in 2017.
As a safety parent and founder of an early childhood development centre, children are at the forefront of her community work.
Peters says this event was a call on the community, and while there was a good turnout, it was a time for unity and packing the hall to capacity with mothers and pastors who are home.
“This could have been my child. That is why it laid so heavy on my heart. If we can just get together as a community to do a mass prayer. It is so important, our people forget sometimes that unity is the best thing for progress in our community,” she says.
“A church is not a building, a church is any individual that stands in the gap and goes on their knees to ask God. People all over the world are in prayer calling for this child to be found, and Joslin will be found,” she says.
Joslin was reported missing by her mother on Tuesday and was last seen on Monday 19 February. Reports indicate she was left for home from school with the mother’s boyfriend on Monday and was nowhere to be found when her mother returned home.
Mass search parties have gathered in Diazville Saldanha since her amber alert, including teams from Mitchell’s Plain.
Pastor Leon Jacobs, founder of Kingdom Christian Church Mitchell’s Plain and founder of the Leon Jacobs Foundation visited Saldanha on Sunday 25 February and prayed with her mother, Kerry and the community.
“This moves us all, that this child has not still not been found. There was a massive crowd,” he says.
Jacobs reiterates that it is better for closure when you may know a person has died, but when encountering something like this, being in the dark about where the child is.
“That is a pain on another level. Myself and a delegate team decided in church on Sunday that we were going to Saldanha to be a blessing to this community. We went to tell the community we were standing in the gap for the entire Cape Town. That their pain is our pain. We were well received and they gave me the honour to address the crowd during the church service. It was not planned, but it was decided. I encouraged them that Christ is still our hope in this case and if this is the way God wants to restore and bring a community together, then so be it. Beautiful things happened, with lots of healing, deliverance and salvation.” The entire community of Diazville was touched. “We were really honoured to be there,” he says.
Jacobs, who has worked in the crime analysis space across the province, aims to make a difference through the use of his foundation with various outreach efforts.
While the search continues, Peters says prayer is a powerful tool in bringing her home.
“There is only one that knows exactly where she is, what is happening and who it is, and that is God. That is why we are all here today, on our knees, calling unto Him. As He has said, if we ask Him, He will answer,” she says.
Mustadafin Foundation, walking bus and safety volunteers, pastors and residents joined the prayer event.
Ward 92 councillor Norman Adonis also joined the event.
As a former safety structure chair and having assisted in search parties for many missing children, the case hit close to his heart.
“I am here because this could have been my child, my brother’s child, my friend’s child. The slogan that police have is ‘your child is my child’, and I stand by that. I am here because I love and care for that child. I see the pain and hurt of her family that does not know where their child is. I appreciate what the community of Saldanha is doing and the teams of Mitchell’s Plain that are there to assist. It is an honour,” he says.
More than R100 000 in reward money has been collected by various organisations and individuals in trying to get her home.
While searches have continued, at the time of going to print, Joslin had not been found.
Anyone with information, is urged to contact the police.
