To give Hope to Children in depsair in South Africa
Date Published:
Dear Sir/Madam.
My name is Johnny Burger, and I am the Chairman of the South African Hall of Fame, but more about that later.
I would like to share my journey with you.
From the age of seven both my father and mother were full blown alcoholics. I recall how every night I had to cover them with blankets wherever they passed out in our tiny little house.
One day my father asked me to throw him a double Brandy and Coke. I started shaking when I handed him his drink because I was so scared. I accidentally spilled some of his drink and he kicked me through the glass sliding door in our lounge. That was the story of my live. Sometimes I had to hide in the closet when they were under the influence. A horrific time.
One night my father passed out, and my mother told me to drive with her. She drove to the local dam and told me to stay in the car. She got out and climbed into the car next to us. I recognised the man in the other car as the hotel manager close to our house where my father went to the bar.
She had sex with him while I watched this heartbreaking act. I was very confused. After a while she got back into our car and slapped me for watching. It happened right in front of me, so it was hard not to notice.
When I was nine my father and mother got divorced. My mothers drinking escalated. One afternoon I took her bottle of alcohol and threw it down the drain. I just could not handle this anymore. She arrived home from work, and she started looking for her alcohol. I was brave enough to tell her that I threw it out. She slapped me through my face, opened the back door and pushed me outside. She told me that I had to learn a lesson, she then locked the door, and I slept outside the entire night. This really broke me mentally.
One Sunday I went to church as I really did not have anywhere else to go. After the service the Pastor asked adults to come forward who needed prayer. So, I gathered all my guts and went. When the Pastor came to me, I asked him to pray for my parents as they were separated and both alcoholics. He prayed for me.
One month later my mother fetched me from school, and she told me that my father was in a car accident, and he was in Intensive Care in the Hospital.
So, what happened ? He was under the influence and by accident he drove and killed a pedestrian.
They threw him in jail and after 10 days in jail they discovered that he had brain damage. Assumptions were made. Some people think the police beat him, while others though it was because of the accident.
Be that as it may. We went to the hospital, and I saw my dad lying there in a coma. The next morning, he sadly passed away.
At the funeral my aunt came to me and said I cannot cry for I was the man of the house now. I truly believed it and did shed a single tear. After the funeral all the family and friends got together for some coffee and snacks.
My mother told everyone at the gathering that I asked the pastor to pray for my father in church and GOD answered my prayers and therefore my father was killed. I believed for many years that I was the cause for my father being killed.
One month after my father passed away, we watched a movie in the school hall called ‘The Champ’.
It was a story of this father and his son. Sadly, at the end the father passes away after his last fight.
And for the first time I cried and realised that for the rest of my life I was going to be fatherless.
To make things worse is that my mother decided to put me in boarding school, and she left town with another man. And there I was. Alone in this world at the age of 10. Confused without any hope.
Every Friday I packed my bag and hoped that she would come fetch me for the weekend. Sadly, this maybe happened once every six months.
GOD gave me lots of sporting talent. I was really blessed and gifted and sport kept me sane. On the other hand, I always stood alone at halftime while all other dads ran onto the field encouraging their boys. I felt a hopelessness, I can never describe this anyone. But life carried on.
I am skipping a couple of year to try and keep this short. At High School I met my first love. For the first time in my life, I felt love. It was incredible. After school she went to university, and I went to the Army as I did not have the funds to go and study.
My high school sweetheart’s mother then told my girlfriend that she must leave me because I have no background and I will make nothing of my life. If my girlfriend refused, she had to pay for her own university degree. She had no choice.
The rejection I felt was unbearable. Soon I learned that there were three things I could do very well. I could play Rugby, fight in clubs and drink and I did this extremely well.
There was no sustainability in this and after about two years they shot me and cut off my jugular vein.
My provincial Team Doctor told me on the operation table I had no chance as I lost to much blood.
Three days later I woke up in ICU. Miracle in the making. This is where I decided that my life had to count, it had to mean something.
Long story short. I pulled myself together and became a stand-up citizen. I started a career after my professional rugby career and up to today I still do motivational speeches about my life.
As GOD always intended, I was blessed to end up with my High School Sweetheart. We got married and we have three beautiful daughters. My wife had one condition before we got married 18 years ago. She asked me to allow her to develop my character. She holds her PHD in Play Therapy and she is my anchor.
In this journey GOD taught me only one thing.
Memories are the keys, not to the past, but to the future. The experiences of our lives, when we allow GOD to use them, will become the mysterious but perfect preparation for the work HE will call me to do.
I will choose my life story a hundred times over. GOD had a great plan for my life. HE powerfully uses me to still stand on stages in Churches, Schools, and Corporates to make a massive impact. GOD will never ever leave you.
As part of my calling, I started The South African Hall of Fame. We are a legacy project that celebrates great achievements by extra ordinary South African, to inspire our youth and then to empower them to holistically reach their full potential.
Hundreds of thousands of kids live in despair circumstances in South Africa and we are trying to make a difference by giving full scholarships to these children, we know it’s not a lot, but we are taking small steps. It takes a lot of effort and funding, but GOD is opening doors that we thought would never be possible.
This is not just a job. It is my calling. I know how these children feel. I walked in their shoes.
Our government is corrupt and does even attempt to help. The South African Economy is under pressure, but we will reach out to the rest of the world for funding and prayer, and I wholeheartedly believe GOD will open the doors that needs to be open.
So, I am not sure what the outcome of this letter will be.
Maybe to come share my story at your church, maybe it is prayer or maybe it is funding to create hope to these children.
I have all the right structures, non-profit organisation, and proposals in place, should you require more information.
The scripture of Deuteronomy 8 is the scripture GOD has given me. And I live my life by it.
GOD will open the right doors. And HE alone will decide.
Thanks for allowing me to share my story with you. I have done my best to portray my Life Journey into three pages.
Warm Regards.
Johnny Burger
Chairman
The South African Hall of Fame
www.halloffame.co.za
My name is Johnny Burger, and I am the Chairman of the South African Hall of Fame, but more about that later.
I would like to share my journey with you.
From the age of seven both my father and mother were full blown alcoholics. I recall how every night I had to cover them with blankets wherever they passed out in our tiny little house.
One day my father asked me to throw him a double Brandy and Coke. I started shaking when I handed him his drink because I was so scared. I accidentally spilled some of his drink and he kicked me through the glass sliding door in our lounge. That was the story of my live. Sometimes I had to hide in the closet when they were under the influence. A horrific time.
One night my father passed out, and my mother told me to drive with her. She drove to the local dam and told me to stay in the car. She got out and climbed into the car next to us. I recognised the man in the other car as the hotel manager close to our house where my father went to the bar.
She had sex with him while I watched this heartbreaking act. I was very confused. After a while she got back into our car and slapped me for watching. It happened right in front of me, so it was hard not to notice.
When I was nine my father and mother got divorced. My mothers drinking escalated. One afternoon I took her bottle of alcohol and threw it down the drain. I just could not handle this anymore. She arrived home from work, and she started looking for her alcohol. I was brave enough to tell her that I threw it out. She slapped me through my face, opened the back door and pushed me outside. She told me that I had to learn a lesson, she then locked the door, and I slept outside the entire night. This really broke me mentally.
One Sunday I went to church as I really did not have anywhere else to go. After the service the Pastor asked adults to come forward who needed prayer. So, I gathered all my guts and went. When the Pastor came to me, I asked him to pray for my parents as they were separated and both alcoholics. He prayed for me.
One month later my mother fetched me from school, and she told me that my father was in a car accident, and he was in Intensive Care in the Hospital.
So, what happened ? He was under the influence and by accident he drove and killed a pedestrian.
They threw him in jail and after 10 days in jail they discovered that he had brain damage. Assumptions were made. Some people think the police beat him, while others though it was because of the accident.
Be that as it may. We went to the hospital, and I saw my dad lying there in a coma. The next morning, he sadly passed away.
At the funeral my aunt came to me and said I cannot cry for I was the man of the house now. I truly believed it and did shed a single tear. After the funeral all the family and friends got together for some coffee and snacks.
My mother told everyone at the gathering that I asked the pastor to pray for my father in church and GOD answered my prayers and therefore my father was killed. I believed for many years that I was the cause for my father being killed.
One month after my father passed away, we watched a movie in the school hall called ‘The Champ’.
It was a story of this father and his son. Sadly, at the end the father passes away after his last fight.
And for the first time I cried and realised that for the rest of my life I was going to be fatherless.
To make things worse is that my mother decided to put me in boarding school, and she left town with another man. And there I was. Alone in this world at the age of 10. Confused without any hope.
Every Friday I packed my bag and hoped that she would come fetch me for the weekend. Sadly, this maybe happened once every six months.
GOD gave me lots of sporting talent. I was really blessed and gifted and sport kept me sane. On the other hand, I always stood alone at halftime while all other dads ran onto the field encouraging their boys. I felt a hopelessness, I can never describe this anyone. But life carried on.
I am skipping a couple of year to try and keep this short. At High School I met my first love. For the first time in my life, I felt love. It was incredible. After school she went to university, and I went to the Army as I did not have the funds to go and study.
My high school sweetheart’s mother then told my girlfriend that she must leave me because I have no background and I will make nothing of my life. If my girlfriend refused, she had to pay for her own university degree. She had no choice.
The rejection I felt was unbearable. Soon I learned that there were three things I could do very well. I could play Rugby, fight in clubs and drink and I did this extremely well.
There was no sustainability in this and after about two years they shot me and cut off my jugular vein.
My provincial Team Doctor told me on the operation table I had no chance as I lost to much blood.
Three days later I woke up in ICU. Miracle in the making. This is where I decided that my life had to count, it had to mean something.
Long story short. I pulled myself together and became a stand-up citizen. I started a career after my professional rugby career and up to today I still do motivational speeches about my life.
As GOD always intended, I was blessed to end up with my High School Sweetheart. We got married and we have three beautiful daughters. My wife had one condition before we got married 18 years ago. She asked me to allow her to develop my character. She holds her PHD in Play Therapy and she is my anchor.
In this journey GOD taught me only one thing.
Memories are the keys, not to the past, but to the future. The experiences of our lives, when we allow GOD to use them, will become the mysterious but perfect preparation for the work HE will call me to do.
I will choose my life story a hundred times over. GOD had a great plan for my life. HE powerfully uses me to still stand on stages in Churches, Schools, and Corporates to make a massive impact. GOD will never ever leave you.
As part of my calling, I started The South African Hall of Fame. We are a legacy project that celebrates great achievements by extra ordinary South African, to inspire our youth and then to empower them to holistically reach their full potential.
Hundreds of thousands of kids live in despair circumstances in South Africa and we are trying to make a difference by giving full scholarships to these children, we know it’s not a lot, but we are taking small steps. It takes a lot of effort and funding, but GOD is opening doors that we thought would never be possible.
This is not just a job. It is my calling. I know how these children feel. I walked in their shoes.
Our government is corrupt and does even attempt to help. The South African Economy is under pressure, but we will reach out to the rest of the world for funding and prayer, and I wholeheartedly believe GOD will open the doors that needs to be open.
So, I am not sure what the outcome of this letter will be.
Maybe to come share my story at your church, maybe it is prayer or maybe it is funding to create hope to these children.
I have all the right structures, non-profit organisation, and proposals in place, should you require more information.
The scripture of Deuteronomy 8 is the scripture GOD has given me. And I live my life by it.
GOD will open the right doors. And HE alone will decide.
Thanks for allowing me to share my story with you. I have done my best to portray my Life Journey into three pages.
Warm Regards.
Johnny Burger
Chairman
The South African Hall of Fame
www.halloffame.co.za
