Johannesburg

Working for racial and economic reconciliation in South Africa

 

Within the metropolitan sprawl of Johannesburg, there are both first and third world conditions. Despite recent policy changes, many communities still bear the impact of historical racial and economic division.  Our site is located in the middle of it all.

We live and work in Cosmo City, an exciting new multi-level government experiment to eliminate informal settlements made up of a unique racial and economic cross section of South Africa’s population.  We also work in the surrounding informal settlement, Zandsruit.  Zandspruit is home to over eighty thousand people, most of who live in extreme poverty. Many of the inhabitants do not have jobs or skills to support their families and all are in some way affected by HIV and AIDS.

We have formed a community of 25-30 people from Cosmo City, Zandspruit,

and the nearby wealthy suburbs committed to racial and economic reconciliation.  We are building a space where we can honestly deal with the hurts of racism, form genuine reciprocal relationships, and figure out to build the kingdom of God together.

We are training black leaders for the townships and squatter communities, and helping to organize pastors in the city who want to empower people to solve the problems they encounter in everyday life using the strategy of community organizing.  Our hope is to discover a model to serve, love and transform communities amongst the urban poor that we can replicate around the country.  We long for partners from around the world to join us on this adventure to change the communities we live in from the inside out.