Capacity Building

The Capacity Building component involves building of institutional capacity of the Dioceses in a number of diverse programmes. Our focus will be deliberately focusing on building the social development ministries in dioceses that are rural in location, with high rates of poverty and limited access to economic opportunities. Through participatory learning methodologies social development structures will be participating in building their responses and approaches to local sustainable development strategies.

Port Elizabeth Consulting

Committed social development representatives from the parishes of the Diocese came together on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 February to meet with HOPE Africa, who facilitate the Social Development Programme in the Anglican Church. HOPE Africa ‘s vision is to facilitate effective developement through partnership with the Diocese of Port Elizabeth.

A warm welcome was extended by Bishop Bethlehem, in particular to Petrina Pakoe and Nomzano Landingwe from HOPE Africa in Cape Town.

After a sceneset by Canon Mario Hendricks, the attendees were allocated small discussion groups to enable them to find out exactly what is being done with reference to Social Developement in the Diocese.

God rewarded us with much positive thought, shared outcomes and the opportunity to network. We all have the same motivation but different constraints. We achieved our outcomes of a clear understanding of social developement work in the Diocese and reached concenus on how to go forward to reach a co-ordinated approach to developement incorporating a stretegic planning process to achieve the Diocesan vision.

An initial four person team (representing the four Archdeaconrys) will make contact with the churches in their Archdeaconry. A working committee of six was agreed to under the guidance of Canon Mario to form a network, database and hopefully a website at a later date. We would like to thank HOPE Africa for the encouragement and support given during this conference, with God’s help we will make a difference and obtain our millennium goals. Our thanks also to Neal and his team at St.Luke’s Retreat Centre who made us feel so welcome.

Arniston Village

In small fishing villages such as Arniston and Lamberts Bay, changing times have deprived local people of their traditional livelihood.

The fishing industry has been taken over by large commercial organisations with the monopoly on government fishing quotas – forcing individuals to either work for them for low wages or leave the industry. However, they have no other skills with which to earn a living, resulting in extreme poverty and unemployment.

After conducting feasibility studies among the villagers, it was decided that tourism offered the greatest opportunity for those living in this picturesque village. HOPE Africa provided training in bricklaying and plumbing, which has resulted in the community building a small guest house and conference centre on land belonging to the church.

Some of the trainees are now employed by a local builder, while others have received training in business management and tourism. A craft centre has also been established in a disused cottage, providing an outlet for a variety of hand-sewn items, paintings, pottery and other crafts popular with tourists

Back To Eden

Like most women in KwaMzizi, Filela lives the traditional way in a small mud hut. Her days are spent gathering wood for the fire and fetching water for washing and cooking.

But she wanted something better for her child: education and the chance to make something of his life. So she joined Back to Eden – a community market farming project to encourage rural women to turn to the lands to earn the money they need to support their families.

Back to Eden is just one of several food gardening projects we support by providing seeds, fertilizer and tools to enable women from poor communities to grow their own vegetables – firstly to provide better nutrition for themselves and their families, and secondly, to provide a small income, selling the surplus to their neighbours.

Child Care Projects

Like most women in KwaMzizi, Filela lives the traditional way in a small mud hut. Her days are spent gathering wood for the fire and fetching water for washing and cooking.

Hawston Hospice

Life is hard in Hawston. Poverty-stricken, ignored by tourists, this ancient fishing village is plagued by unemployment and lack of facilities.

Medical care is woefully inadequate. If you’re sick or injured, you queue at the clinic and hope the overworked nursing sister can see you before the end of the day. The nearest hospital is 20 kilometres away.

As parish priest, Rev Pamela Parenzee visits the sick to bring spiritual comfort. But she desperately wanted to give practical help too. So, with help from HOPE Africa, she started a small hospice in a derelict house next door to the church.

Now, four trained caregivers provide round-the-clock physical and spiritual support, while a government social worker helps patients and their families process grants, organise funeral policies and search for missing relatives.

Skills Training

If we are to effectively tackle poverty in our land, we have to give people the skills they need to earn a living.

HOPE Africa has numerous training projects, including computer literacy schools, training in micro business enterprise, quilting, sewing, gardening, beading and other handcrafts, as well as training that enables local people to enter the profitable tourism industry.

We are extremely grateful for the financial help we receive towards these programmes, creating lasting solutions to the problem of poverty, unemployment and hunger.

Soup / Kitchens / Nutrition

Food security remains the greatest challenge for many poverty-stricken people living in the sprawling shacklands of the Western Cape and elsewhere.

Although our focus is on development – on giving a hand up rather than a hand out – in situations where children, especially, are in danger of suffering lasting damage from malnutrition, we operate soup kitchens.

In partnership with other faith organisations and government departments, we help fund food kitchens in Genadendal, Grabouw, Robertson, Zwelethemba and Ceres, which feed around 5 000 people daily, most of them children.

Diocesan Programme