It won't change the whole system - but for the individual person it can be life-changing.

During a short digital visit (ELMinar), the participants experienced first-hand how the Lutheran Community Outreach Foundation (LCOF) assists refugees.

One definition of the noun "outreach" is "to provide services to any population that might not otherwise have access to those services." That is exactly what the Lutheran Community Outreach Foundation aims to do - making information and services accessible to people who would otherwise be excluded from them. Just ten years ago, this referred to a manageable number of people, but today there are thousands of people living on the streets with no hope and no future.

"The official unemployment rate in South Africa is 31.9%, the unofficial rate is 48%. If you take the 18-35 age group, the rate is 65%. This is a ticking time bomb," says Robert Michel, Managing Director of the Outreach Foundation. "Unemployment is so high that you have to ask yourself what a 3 or 6 week training course for 15 people actually achieves. And yes, we can't do anything about the high unemployment rate - but for the individuals attending the course and then making a living from the newly aquired skills makes a huge difference to that persons life - and to his family.

Today, most of those seeking help are migrants and refugees. "The LCOF offers short training courses. The people looking for help can't afford to do 3-4 years of training. They are hungry now and need work to help their families make ends meet," says Michel. "As much training as possible in the shortest possible time. The primary goal is not the labour market, but helping people to help themselves."

The courses teach skills such as make-up, cooking and sewing, as well as skills in solar energy, electrical installations, welding, computer and software courses, gardening and agricultural knowledge.

It is estimated that there are 4.6 million illegal immigrants in the country (out of a population of 62 million in 2022) who do not receive any state aid. "If someone applies for asylum in South Africa today, they have to wait 86 years to get an answer. That is cynical. The asylum application also has to be extended every six months. The most pressing issues for these people are work, food and drink and legal security. The children of immigrants in particular are often completely without rights. Children of people who do not have the right of permanent residence in South Africa cannot become citizens. This would require at least one parent to be in the country legally. So while the parents at least have the citizenship of their country of origin, the children are stateless.

The first point of contact at the LCOF is therefore a social worker who assesses the situation together with the client and plans further steps. If legal issues are the primary concern, lawyers are called in. Psycho-social counselling, the use of social services, courses to strengthen women's self-confidence and trauma treatment can also be arranged.

"The South African state does not offer any help to refugees, there are no integration efforts. Hospital care is already poor for South Africans, even more so for migrants. The schools are hopelessly overloaded. There are 60-80 children per class. When the capacity limits are reached, the children of refugees are not educated," says Michel. He points out that the riots against refugees are increasing because they are being blamed for the country's misery, which in fact mainly affects the refugees themselves because they are at the very end of the chain.

In addition to refugees from Mozambique, Malawi, Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Nigeria, it is mainly refugees from Zimbabwe who frequently travel to South Africa because they hope for a better life there.

This is why the LCOF has set up a small advice centre on the border with Zimbabwe in Musina. The advice centre is meant for those people who want to make their way to South Africa and it works as part of a large network. This network includes the city council in Musina, the Red Cross, the UN, the Outreach Foundation and the Catholic Church, among others, who work together to find out what legal, labour market, social and housing-related options are available, initially in Musina but also in other places in South Africa. In addition, the LCOF organises workshops for refugees and migrants at important transit points in southern Africa (e.g. in Malawi, Zambia or Zimbabwe), in which the reasons for fleeing are examined in detail in a network with other NGOs and refugees themselves. Information is provided about the actual situation for refugees in South Africa. The hope is to be able to dissuade some people from fleeing who are likely to have no chance of a better life in South Africa.

And it is always true that even if it is not possible to help such a large number of refugees, help is often the step towards a better life for the individual who receives it.