South Africa   Get Involved   Trafficking   HIV/Aids   Fairtrade   Environment

For the first time an African nation is hosting the 2010 World Cup, the biggest football tournament on the planet.

Apart from hoping to enjoy the beautiful game and supporting our national teams, the World Cup is a chance to highlight the work of The Salvation Army in South Africa, which began in Cape Town in 1883, and to consider some of the wider issues in the region after the teams, fans and spotlight move on.

The Salvation Army's work in South Africa includes homes for babies and children with HIV/Aids, pre-schools, shelters for homeless people, care of the elderly, emergency services, feeding schemes, centres for abused women and children, homes for abandoned children and community development projects.

In Soweto Johannesburg The Salvation Army's work includes a creche for 75 children and the Bethany Combined Primary School and Home which houses 110 children aged 10-18 years.

Some of the children in The Salvation Army's care are orphans, abandoned, or have been abused physically or sexually and socially deprived. Through a holistic programme that includes sports, music and art the children are helped to heal from the challenges they have met in their lives and to build their self-esteem.

A place of hope
The Salvation Army's Ethembeni (Place of Hope) Children's Home was created in 1995 to provide somewhere to stay for many abandoned HIV/AIDS infected and affected babies.

Ethembeni provides care for up to 60 children from birth to 3 years. All children in need of care are admitted irrespective of their health status. The home uses stimulatory programmes and promotes and encourages shorter periods of residency for the children by helping to have children returned to their communities.

Support for war veterans
Homelessness in South Africa continues to be a tragic reality. The Salvation Army runs hostels to provide long term accommodation to homeless men who are often disability pensioners and war veterans abandoned by their family and friends.

A multi-purpose social centre situated in the centre of Johannesburg serves homeless people, older people, abused women and children, and those needing crisis intervention. People arrive at the shelter at sunset and receive a hot meal and a warm bed for the night - the only alternative to sleeping on park benches and city centre pavements.

Helping people find employment
Salvation Army Goodwill Centres and Family Missions are centres designed to accommodate individuals and families who have fallen on hard times as a result of sudden unemployment, illness, drug or alcohol dependence, or the break-up of the family. Through counselling and practical assistance from The Salvation Army, people are encouraged to find employment and are helped to put their lives back together again.

Violence against women and children in South Africa is escalating at an alarming rate. Responding to the call, The Salvation Army established Carehaven, a facility for abused women and children in the Cape Town area and Beth Shan in Pretoriain. The government recently donated a hospital to The Salvation Army for an extention to Carehaven's programme. Similar projects have been established in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and Durban.

More:
Anti-Human Trafficking work
Resources to help your church group get involved in the World Cup
HIV/Aids work in South Africa

Links:
The Salvation Army in South Africa www.salvationarmy.org.za