Reaching out to the Poorest of the Poor - p.2

South Africa

Poorest of the poor in South Africa

While attending seminary and learning how to effectively evangelize, Frank was sitting in a church staff meeting when his future ministry was dramatically confirmed. Having not told anyone about his increasing burden for the poor, an assistant senior pastor announced that God had revealed to him that someone on staff had been called to minister to the poor but had been wrestling with God over this.

“He went on to say that the Lord said that the person was to come out right there and then and acknowledge this,” Frank recalls. “It was impossible at this stage not to avoid what the Lord was saying.”

Making the Vision Real

Frank spent a year in Canada researching social welfare and community development before returning to South Africa in October 1995 to set up the Thembalitsha Foundation in Cape Town with the support of His People Christian Ministries. The following year was spent building relationships among the informal settlements and “townships” and in 1997, Thembalitsha was officially founded and registered as a non-profit organization. The foundation was then registered under the Department of Welfare in 1999.

“Thembalitsha” means new hope. It is a combination of two Xhosa words – ithemba (hope) and tsha (new). Thembalitsha envisions to develop people to the point of self-reliance by helping communities establish pre-schools, adult training programs, health care services and education programs; and to assist in the rehabilitation of children at risk through bridging education programs.

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