South Africa is noted for its vast beauty and contrasting harsh realities, where the affluent and poverty stricken live side by side. Once a country whose people were separated by a class system and told where and how to live is now a democracy where daily liberties run free for all. Still the separation of rich and poor remains and grows more drastic with every passing day. As a result of “freedom” Africans fled rural areas in mass to the countries large cities in hopes of finding jobs. Instead many were met with unemployment and with no place to live, thus they began creating their own settlements.

These settlements, referred to as squatter camps, where more than 10 million South Africans take up residence span the periphery of South Africa’s large cities. Impoverished dwellings made from scrap plywood, corrugated metal and sheets of plastic often do not have proper sanitation, electricity, or telephone services. It is in these areas were desperation overwhelms its residents causing them to grasp at life with little to no hope. Unfortunately it breeds the issues of AIDS, poverty, crime, substance and sexual abuse. Fortunately it is in these most desperate areas where people are open and looking for something that leads to hope and ultimately to a better life.

In a country noted as a “Christian nation” lays deep pockets of people who will not hear the Word of God because their surroundings are too daunting for many to endure. It is these areas where our heart beats the strongest… for the poverty stricken, the hurting, the most desperate, yes even if it means treading into communities where the conditions are deplorable! For how will they hear if no one is sent?