At a gathering in
Johannesburg in January 2006, a group of South Africans representing
various organizations working on behalf of the poor met with
former mission co-workers Susanne Carter and Ken Jones to explore
the need for a Joining Hands Against Hunger network on land
justice. They first talked about what the concept of land meant
to each of them.
Mati Mathabatha insisted, “Land is food. Land is water.
Land is life.” Christopher Saaiman added, “Land
is security and dignity. Land is family identity for generations.
We cannot be without land.” “Given the meaning of
land in African cultures,” write Ken and Susanne, “North
Americans can hardly begin to understand the deep emotional
commitment and spiritual dimensions of the struggle for land
justice on this continent.”
The group discussions that ensued reflected the creative tension
between those who work hard to make land accessible to the poor
and those who dedicate their lives to develop and teach sustainable
use of whatever land is available. From either perspective,
Ken and Susanne heard from people with tremendous experience,
knowledge, and commitment to land justice.
Two groups of participants literally wore their convictions
on their T-shirts. The Landless People’s Movement organizes
poor and often illiterate people to demand access to land. The
Nkuzi Development Association protects the rights of farmworker
families threatened by evictions.
Several administrative and imaginative steps will have to
be taken before this group can become the core of recognized
Joining Hands Against Hunger network in South Africa. But their
enthusiasm is high, and as Philemon Talane said during the evaluation
period, “We are off to a good start.” As this groups
works to bring this vision into reality, Susanne and Ken request
prayer for the process and outcome.
Through the years, God’s people have moved from place
to place,” writes Janet Guyer, regional AIDS consultant
for Southern Africa. “Ours is a history of moving. Sometimes
God has called us to lands more fertile and to a place of blessing.
Sometimes God has needed to push us into places that are far
away and frightening, to find God’s blessing. And sometimes
the moves have nothing to do with the will of God but the sinfulness
of humanity. Even so, God has continued to care for and bless
us. So it is with Davyton Township, east of Johannesburg. Built
on the pain of relocation during the apartheid era because black
South Africans were living in a place that white South Africans
wanted, Davyton has grown through the migration of people moving
from rural areas, other urban areas, and simply through the
growth of families that came to call this area home. It is now
made up of a cross section of people, ranging from those living
in comfortable, middle-class homes to those living in high-density
areas on the very edge of existence.
Today, some people here are economically secure with stable
jobs and are able to care for their families. But this is not
the whole picture. Unemployment is near 40 percent and rising,
and underemployment is rife. HIV/AIDS has touched almost every
family in one way or another. Teenage pregnancy is on the increase.
In general, although South Africa appears to be prospering,
in Davyton times are hard.
“In this milieu, St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church
of the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa finds
itself called to care for her members and to reach out to the
community with God’s compassionate love, God’s hope,
and God’s justice. In 2005, the dream of a way to help
feed people in the community became a reality after people were
taught more efficient ways to grow vegetables. The first crops
were grown on a plot of donated land and in small garden areas
around homes. Those first crops were harvested in time to appear
on the table at Christmas—yet one more of God’s
blessings.”
This is a picture repeated throughout South Africa. God’s
blessings growing from seeds of hope in the hands of God’s
people, reaching out with God’s love to their communities. |
