On Tuesday morning, 3 September 2024, the PCC participants visited various social projects in Soweto, Hillbrow and Pretoria that work in the areas of displacement, homelessness and HIV/Aids. One of these projects is the Outreach Foundation in Hillbrow, a neighbourhood in Johannesburg.

A visit to the Outreach Foundation in Hillbrow (Johannesburg)

Living church in a multicultural neighbourhood with high unemployment.

Hillbrow in Johannesburg is a multicultural neighbourhood - people with roots in various African countries live together here. But Hillbrow is also a poor neighbourhood with high unemployment. Abandoned and squatted houses that are past their prime line the way to the Outreach Foundation - a church organisation that tries to improve life for the people in the district. It has developed around an old church.

Young people from the neighbourhood can acquire various skills here, such as cooking, making music, IT skills, woodworking or vegetable growing.

With unemployment at 50% or more, the project helps people to find work. According to their own statements, they are also quite successful at this. However, the Outreach Foundation not only aims to prepare people for a job, but also other elements of a good life, such as food security.

This is often not a given, especially when unemployment is high. Those who have no money have to look for alternatives to shopping. The Outreach Foundation focuses on replicating urban gardening projects.
These include, for example, vegetables in bags or hydroponics. In the latter, plants grow in an aqueous nutrient solution without the use of soil. It sounds very complicated at first, but it's not. Such systems can be built from recycled materials such as canisters, water bottles, etc. Even small areas - such as those available to many people in the city - are sufficient for this: Balconies or areas in car parks, etc.
At the Outreach Foundation itself, the system is somewhat more professional and much larger. The greenhouse used is located on the roof of a house.

On-site, you realise that it is a case of practical charity in action. The participants from the partnerchurches will probably ask themselves – “is this a model for the church in general?”

Outreach Foundation in Pretoria

The participants of the partner church consultation also visited another office of the Outreach Foundation in Pretoria.

The participants of the partner church consultation also visited another office of the Outreach Foundation in Pretoria.

In Pretoria, the Outreach Foundation works with refugees. In the picture, representatives of the partner churches are visiting people at a course for future plumbers. The training toilet is in the centre of the picture. The course participants use it to acquire new skills for their job.