Cape Town - Pastor Ivan Waldeck, who survived being shot eight times in an attempt on his life in May, says the incident has left him undeterred about continuing his mediation work among Cape Flats gangs.
Waldeck now walks with the help of a cane and still has two bullets lodged in his body.
The former gangster and co-founder of the Western Cape Community Outreach (Wecco) organisation and his wife Natasha were shot in May after they left the Holy Nation of God International Church near Sacks Circle in Bellville South. Waldeck was wounded in the arm, leg and hip.
His wife suffered extensive damage to her face after a bullet pierced her cheekbone and destroyed a lot of nasal tissue. She is still recovering.
“I never thought my family and I would become victims, but now we have,” he said on Wednesday.
“But I am still around, bringing a message of hope that there is life beyond the barrel of a gun, beyond prison and drug merchants.”
He is the second gangster-turned-pastor targeted this year.
Albern Martins, 55, was shot dead outside the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court in March as he arrived to appear on charges of abalone smuggling.
“I spent 10 years in prison and was a member of the 26 gang. After I shot my cousin, who was in a rival gang, the Dixie Boys, I started to change my life,” said Waldeck.
On Wednesday he spoke to former 28s gang members at his office in Bellville.
“They are the ones I trust to reach out to others and they are the men I believe can make a difference,” he said.
“Potential leaders are dying and I refuse to be silenced by the bullet of a gun. I am asking gangsters to lay down their guns and look for a better life.”
Waldeck is still in a lot of pain and is expected to undergo surgery later this year to have the two bullets removed.
“There is a bullet close to my spine and one in my inner thigh. I hope to tell them (gangsters) that they are special, even if I die.
“My message from my coffin would be that there is hope.”
Waldeck said the former gangsters who attend his programmes were valuable.
“If someone told me 18 years ago that there could be a different life for me, I would never have gone to prison… if someone just believed in me the way I believe in them.”
He said the programmes he offered were not supported by the government or any other organisation.
“I’m investing in my own vision and our church also supports the programmes.”
Wecco will be at the Calvary Baptist Church in Hanover Park on Thursday as part of its drug awareness programme.
Cape Argus