Our first night in S.A. was comprised of a crash course in the history of Johannesburg and South Africa in general.  With respect to immigration, we learned that S.A. is to Africa what the U.S.A. is to some parts of Central America, and Joburg is the economic capital of S.A..  As a result, S.A. has a 40% unemployment rate, and in some parts of Joburg, the rate is as high as 90%.  

 

 

We worked in one such area, called Freedom Park.  I asked many people how large Freedom Park is, but no one could answer.  I estimate that it’s several square miles.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*This picture was taken by Michael McCloskey

 

 

 

While in S.A., we worked under the leadership of a non-profit called ARTSA.  Their mission is to provide food, shelter, education, and medical aid to children and widows.  We found that in a majority of homes, it is the grandmother, or “gogo”, who is providing care for children because the parents have passed away.  This is extremely difficult for the gogos as they age and care for a handful of grandchildren on little or no income.   ARTSA is currently limited to having 75 children enrolled in their program due to financial and staffing considerations, although we were told by the executive director, “We have the hands!” because there are so many unemployed people in Freedom Park.  

 

I could talk for hours about the personal stories of the directors and staff, but as a group, they are extremely talented, well educated, and have a passion to serve fellow South Africans in a way that would glorify God.  We formed friendships with a few of the staff members and will tell you more about them specifically in blogs to come...