South African women and children have a well-travelled, down-to-earth British granny championing their daily battles.
Margaret Stunt, the internationally renowned motivational speaker and preacher, left for Johannesburg earlier this year to work in South Africa with her goal simply to give women and children "hope in a hopeless world".
Over the past months she has been leading church visits to women at Pretoria Central Prison and children at the Alex Care Centre in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg, handing out gifts, practical motivation tips and scripture.
Not everyone approved when she told relatives and her flock at Dunstable New Life Church. "Our family thought we were mad leaving the United Kingdom to come to Johannesburg. They told us it was the most violent city in the world," she said.
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"I told them teenagers were being stabbed in Britain every day while, in Chicago in the United States, 56 people are killed daily," she said.
"People said, 'Not Johannesburg. Why not Cape Town?' And I told them, 'I am not afraid of anything because, with the Lord on your side, who can one fear?' If I am shot, I win because I go straight to heaven," she said.
"People thought we were crazy but, where the spirit of God abides, there is peace, and we have had nothing negative happen to us since arriving in the country," she added.
"We live in a world where life is cheap; there are places in England I would not go anywhere near, and I cannot drive through London with my handbag on the passenger seat. I had the experience of someone smashing the window and running off with my bag in London," she said.
She said South Africans had a bad habit of looking down on their country. "In England, it is sad really. Crime, especially the recent spate of stabbings, is linked to youths having fun, while in South Africa, it is linked to poverty."
Stunt had taken her inspirational message to America, Australia and Europe before deciding she wanted to work and help improve the plight of women and children in South Africa.
She said women in South Africa accepted abuse as normal and that, through her work, she wants to help people break the cycle of violence.
"I was abused sexually as a child. In South Africa, everyone would have you believe that sexual abuse is only prevalent among black women. People seem shocked when I tell them what happened to me," she said.
"We live in a world where being a victim has become the norm. I was a victim for many years; if I had not found God, I would still be one," she said.
In her book Healed & Whole published three years ago, Stunt told of how she was abused by a man known to her family when she was eight and on another occasion by lesbian friends her parents sent her to spent weekends with.
"I didn't have any parents really, just people who had the same name as me," she wrote.
Stunt, who has breast cancer, said the illness made her reconsider her outlook on life. "Cancer makes you look at life differently. I decided I wanted to spend my remaining days making a difference to people who needed me the most, and from my experiences in the country before, I knew there was a need in South Africa," she said.
She arrived in Johannesburg in January with her husband, Fred, daughter Jayne Feben, son-in-law Adrian and four grandchildren after visiting South Africa over the past three years giving talks to women at conferences aimed at teaching them by using scripture that they should become victors, not victims.
"Through our work, we are seeking to build relationships and, with the women I come into contact with, I share real life experiences because I believe we can make a difference," she said.
Stunt, 58, is heading Rhema Women, an arm of the Randburg church group which helps women from all walks of life. She said she shared her experiences - including details of her divorce and remarrying her husband, Fred, as a way of encouraging women to overcome obstacles placed in their paths.
After learning of her cancer more than three years ago, Stunt said she needed a knee-cap replacement. "That was a stumbling block to my South African plans, but the first thing I asked the doctor was when could I fly. He said most people asked when they would be able to walk," she recalled.
"Rhema Women gathers once a month. We have adopted a women's prison and the favour of God is with us. Due to the generosity of the women, we were able to give each of them [the inmates] a gift containing moisturiser, toothpaste, soap, books and, of course, chocolate. They were so grateful."
Stunt has plans to travel to Durban to preach later this month, but she is now organising the annual women's conference at Rhema between August 20 and 24.
Nancy Alcorn, the president and founder of Mercy Ministries of America, said the many young women who suffer sexual abuse need to know that healing and wholeness are possible. "Margaret's story is powerful and compelling," she commented.
Bobbie Houston of the Hillsong Church where Stunt once worked, said her story was not uncommon. "She [Margaret] is one of the most encouraging women I have ever met."
Mandy Murugan, a member of Rhema Women, said Stunt was down-to-earth, simple and an inspirational person. "Women attending our monthly meetings are made to feel special from the time we enter the hall until we leave and then the sincerity and simplicity of what she says remains with us, nurturing and encouraging us, to the point where we want to make a difference in broader society," she said.
Stunt said she still has to sell the family house in Bedfordshire but remains convinced that coming to South Africa to help uplift women and children was the right decision for her.
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