As one of five Johnson Interns last year, I was able to nurture my vocational interest in social justice ministry and community development through my worksite placement and involvement in the Chapel of the Cross. This led to considerable personal development and a desire for continued involvement with the Chapel Hill and Carrboro communities, and I am now working at the Inter-Faith Council Community House, a shelter for the homeless. My experience in this program was enhanced by an experience in late May of 2002 when I participated in a faith-based community development workshop in Cape Town, South Africa.

Organized by the South Africa Community Fund, the workshop Spirit, Soil, and Voice III: The Role of Faith, Culture, and Art in Peace-Building took me into the heart of the devastation created by the Apartheid government and allowed me a glimpse of a resurrection.

Although slow and somewhat discouragingly so, South Africa is in the process of transforming its societies from unjust structures into inclusive communities. During this 10-day emotionally intensive workshop, I listened to a former commissioner from the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, former political prisoners imprisoned on Robben Island, and former members of the militant wing of the African National Congress (ANC). All recounted their stories of the past and present and their hopes for the future. They took us into the heart of their world, to their neighborhoods, to the exact locations where loved ones were killed and pointed out the inhumanness of those actions. I visited townships that still exist because the government is unable to find an effective method of removing those permanent geographical barriers utilized during Apartheid to keep races separate. I visited orphanages that provide a last refuge for babies born with HIV/AIDS whose fate was determined even before they were born.

Despite all this, I found hope in the community development efforts of Habitat for Humanity International and other local grassroots organizations as they start to rebuild the livelihood and standard of living of all those millions of people affected by Apartheid.

Additionally, I witnessed the spirit and life of the people through a small Anglican church in a township. Having studied Desmond Tutu’s Ubuntu Theology before departing on this trip, I was better able to put into perspective the efforts of the Anglican Church in restoring the faith and sense of community for the people of South Africa through the process of reconciliation. Though this particular service was conducted in Xhosa, one of nine or so nationally recognized languages, I heard perfectly well the soul of this congregation, which helped restore my own faith that countries can be made whole again.

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