Over 10 years ago the founders of Bridge To Cross, Frikkie & Tina Koen, left South Africa in search of a better future for their family. Now they are on their way back to Africa to bring a better future for the vulnerable children and orphans of the townships of Africa most affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
The transformation started in 2003 while Frikkie & Tina came face to face with the question, what on earth am I here for? Realizing that life is not all about them, they started re-evaluating everything that they were involved in and that occupied their time, resources and energy.
In search of the true purpose of life they sold their custom built house in one of the most affluent neighborhoods in the greater Dallas area. Frikkie also closed down his software consulting company that they worked hard on for the previous two years to establish.
They relocated to Oklahoma and went back to the basics of life. They started on rebuilding the foundation of their life from the ground up, focusing on what matters most in life, relationships.
In 2005, during a visit back to the country of their childhood, South Africa, the Lord broke their hearts for the children of Africa. They witnessed firsthand the ravaging effects that the HIV/AIDS pandemic is having on Africa’s communities and the purpose of their lives once again took on a whole new meaning.
Both knew that they would never be the same again. They could never go back to their life of comfort in their adopted country of the USA without constantly being confronted by the knowledge that the children in Africa are stuck in a state of hopelessness.
Having gone through a process of rebuilding their lives where relationships were the most important priorities, they decided that it is time for action. They vowed that they will never seek a life of comfort for themselves while so many are desperate for the basics in life.
Not knowing where it would lead them, they stepped out in faith to find a suitable vehicle to transform Africa’s communities by bringing hope to the next generation. Eventually in November 2006, they found themselves in front of the computer looking at the Boys and Girls Clubs of America website, the same vehicle that has brought hope to the at-risk children in the USA for the last one hundred years. Since then they officially established Bridge To Cross, an incorporated not-for-profit organization that would, among other things, assist in bringing a similar concept back to Africa adapted to the unique environments of Africa. After sharing their vision for bringing a similar concept to Africa, one of the Vice Presidents of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America has joined the board of directors of Bridge To Cross.
Bridge to Cross is currently working in partnership with Charity and Faith Mission to bring the first Boys and Girls Club, known in South Africa as Youth Centers, to the township of Mamelodi, South Africa.
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