1 September 2004

Imagine this scenario:

Place: a public park in South Euclid, Ohio
Time: an evening in July 2004
Characters: John O., 17 years old, resident of South Euclid; and Brown M., 26 years old, resident of Johannesburg, RSA, currently visiting the United States and staying with John’s family
Action: kicking a soccer ball

John: Those are really cool sneakers you’ve got!
Brown: (He is trod in bright blue canvas hightops with a buttoned coin pocket above each ankle)
Sneakers? You mean my takkies? Oh, I got those somewhere in Jo-burg.
John: In Jo-burg, South Africa !?
Brown: Sure. Why not? Did you think we all walk barefoot in the jungle?
John: Well. Not really, but….

As the conversation continues, John gets to know a real person from Africa, and some of his previous assumptions begin to crumble. Brown too is having his first experience with a real North American family, and they do not look quite like the ones he has seen on TV in South Africa.

When it comes to undermining stereotypes, nothing beats face-to-face encounters. Transforming experiences similar to the interaction between Brown and John happened over and over again during the recent visit of a four-person JHAH-SA delegation to their partner Presbytery of the Western Reserve.

Mutual transformation is central to the Joining Hands Against Hunger concept. Partners on either side of the ocean are charged to learn about each other and about the causes of hunger in both countries, and then to work together on finding joint responses.

Everywhere in the world, one of the causes of hunger is unemployment. Brown, who is not only a leisure time soccer player but also the national president of the Young Christian Workers movement in South Africa, is very familiar with these dynamics. Most of the members in his organization are without jobs and therefore without income. When Brown visited the New Life Community in Cleveland, he was introduced to a program aimed at supporting homeless families in their desire for a new start. Part of the training offered at the center is focused on job interview skills and strategies, which are practiced extensively through role-play.

This very idea caught Brown’s attention. As a result, later this month a small group of young unemployed South Africans will enter a course offered in the KwaZulu town of Ladysmith (of Black Mambazo fame). These classes will prepare them to do well in interviews for “learnerships,” that is, government-sponsored internships to provide young unemployed persons with on-the-job experience. One of the methods to be used will be role-playing.

When it comes to sharing practical ideas, nothing beats personal face-to face encounters.

Neither the initiative in Cleveland nor the one in Ladysmith will reverse the global trend toward increasing unemployment worldwide. Only massive transformation in the priorities of governments and in the policies of transnational corporations will assure fair employment for all and a more equitable distribution of the world’s wealth. But as small local groups in various places simultaneously begin to understand and to challenge “the way things are,” and as they find ways to join hands in their efforts, a vision of “the way things could be” emerges. For us and for many of our JHAH colleagues this vision is inspired by and in line with Jesus’ teachings about the kingdom of God. So, join us in praying “…Thy kingdom come….”

Peace,

Susanne Carter and Ken Jones

The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 61