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Photo courtesy of Judson College

Architect Gary Wang did in six months what the city of Chicago had been unable to do for almost 60 years—he helped bring hope to the children of Cabrini-Green, an impoverished public-housing project near the city's downtown.

Cabrini-Green began as a utopian vision-a tight-knit government-funded housing community where low-income families could reside together in harmony as they worked their way up the socioeconomic ladder. Unfortunately, five decades of government neglect combined with soaring crime and unemployment rates turned the utopian vision into a waking nightmare.

Now, as part of a massive 10-year urban renewal plan, the buildings of Cabrini-Green are being demolished to clear the way for new mixed-income housing units, complete with an adjacent shopping center, library, and schools.

As the city of Chicago moves forward with its plans to tear Cabrini down, Gary Wang's ministry team from Moody Memorial Church (located just two blocks away) has dedicated itself to building the community up-one child at a time.

Wang was first introduced to Cabrini-Green in 1999, when he volunteered to teach a series of after-school art classes to Cabrini's kids. He was stunned at the subhuman conditions the 6,000-plus residents of Cabrini called home.

"It was just a smelly, horrible place," Wang recalls. "Concrete and cockroaches as far as the eye could see, urine soaked stairwells-it was a real rat's nest."

But Wang wasn't deterred. He went to work, teaching the kids and slowly earning their trust.

Two years into his after-school art ministry, Moody Memorial Church leased two floors of one of the soon-to-be-demolished Cabrini high-rises. The plan was to remodel the space and create an after-school program called Kids' Club, where children ages 7 to 13 could receive help with their homework, participate in Bible study, and socialize in a safe, caring Christian environment.

Wang, who teaches architecture at nearby Judson College in Elgin, Illinois, recruited his college students to help him with the project. With blueprints in hand, they began a total gut renovation of the site-knocking down walls, laying new carpeting, installing tile floors, replacing broken lights, and filling the space with a kaleidoscope of colors.

"I wanted the space to be as open and airy and bright and playful as possible," explains Wang, "a place where the kids could come together and grow in their relationship with the Lord."

Now, every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoon, Kids' Club is filled with the laughter and buzz of nearly 200 Cabrini children, and plans are in place to renovate other local sites to house the booming ministry.

Soon, though, this safe haven will be demolished with the rest of Cabrini-Green. Still, Wang knows the work they've done wasn't in vain.

"We knew going in that whatever we created would eventually be torn down in five to seven years," says Wang. "But a lot can happen in five years. By the time these walls are torn down, Kids' Club will have helped hundreds of children come to know the Lord. That's definitely worth it."

Adapted from Judson Today, a publication of Judson College (www.judson-il.edu). Used by permission.

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