Well!... Come

Philippi—soon to become renown as a model of change and true community for South Africa. This is our prayer anyhow—that the Church would lead our friends out of oppression, violence, unemployment, poverty, and spiritual death. And to be true, the first steps are already being taken. It’s not as if Philippi—even with its 80+% unemployment and violence—is a pit of perdition. By no means. There is a thriving and growing Church and we have new, dear friends there. There are orphans who, dispite severe loss, see God’s goodness and provision in their lives. There are people stepping up to selflessly care for the needs of others. Amazing. And to let you in on a dream of mine, I think the next president—or at least a member of parliament—will rise up from some of the folks we’re working with. MP, President, or not, the Church—present and future—is living, active and growing!

Beyond St. Paul’s Anglican Church—our base of operations, primary contacts and closest friends in Philippi, the community at large is hard to describe. [You can look at a few pictures and read more from this link. Yeah, it’s the same outdated site I linked to in “Two Worlds”] Philippi is a mishmash of cement block homes and tin-cardboard-scrap-shack homes at the heart of the Cape Flats—a 4 million-member mass of segregated poverty. The population in Philippi (contrary to the outdated website) is over 100,300 people. I can’t get any good estimates of the square kilometerage… my best guess is 18 sq. kilometers or 11 ¼ sq. miles. That’s some serious pop. density!

Most people actually carry a deed to their shack—or rather their roughly 10 square yards plot of land. They don’t owe taxes on their property—I guess this would be impossible to extort from the pennyless populous. And it’s not like their estate is worth much—many of the homes are ingeniously constructed from old rusted out cars, roofing, scrap wood, cardboard, scavenged windows and doors, and pounded flat barrels. The schools, library, clinic and other public features (rusted out dumpsters, collapsed bus stops, and sporadically lit traffic lights) are courtesy of the government.

Each area of the Cape Flats, like Philippi, has a City Council Member—elected every two years. They’re supposed to monitor the community’s needs (which can seem like a joke at times) and advocate for the people. If you want to build a shack on an uninhabited scratch of sand, for example, the Council Member is the one to talk to. From my understanding, they don’t carry any judicial power. Law enforcement is left up to the police who have the uncanny ability to take leave or close the office during moments of especially high crime.

So I guess that brings us back to the beginning. In all reality, nothing’s gonna change unless the Church gets their hands dirty here. No offense, but our Councilor isn’t gonna create 80,000 jobs in Philippi by squawking his head off at some annual meeting. Even if all South Africa’s diamond and gold mines caught some ridiculously philanthropic vision, there’d be no way their trillions would come close to supporting the millions of orphans that are about to hit this country like a tsunami. And that’s why it’s so awesome to be a part of this stuff! I get to work alongside, cheer on and empower amazing folks who are mobilizing their communities and equipping them for change. Real, forever change.