Years ago the British came to South Africa because they believed that it was their God-given right to own that land. They then oppressed the black people, the natives who loved and lived on that land far before the British even knew it existed. Oppression started by forcing the natives into townships and giving them no opportunity to recover and make a life for themselves. Then came apartheid. laws and a social norm of further suppressing the natives that lived here way before the British ever stepped foot on Africa. The government was run by whites who were scared of losing the power that they held, so instead of raising the standard of living for everyone and becoming great leaders, they became a powerful leader by oppressing people who had a reason to fight the government. Then came Nelson, a man who fought for peace and for rights. I think there is something very, very special about the story of Nelson. A man who was told that he would die in prison when he arrived and then became the president of a country? Something else is going on there. Nelson walked with peace and wished for unity among the country, eventually bringing SA out of apartheid. He is still considered a hero to many who live in SA.
Now the nation of SA is still fighting the aftermath of apartheid. After talking to white locals they explained that the white man is experiencing reverse racism, where he is the last man to get a job. But from the looks of the country, the blacks are still living in the townships. blacks are still being oppressed by society. The standard of living for whites is still much higher than for blacks and colored citizens. I think that in all ways the people of South Africa have each received some sort of oppression by society. However, they chose to blame each other for that and fight back.
disclaimer* I do not mean to disregard the word of locals at all. I do believe that there is still some truth to what they are saying, but the state of the country that I saw I’d not represent the words that they were saying.
Another large theme in SA is corruption in the government. This is now spreading to every part of the country, water, electricity, schools. One of the best examples is the electricity. SA engages in a thing called load-sharing. There isn’t enough electricity for everyone to have electric at the same time, so parts of the country will lose power for hours at a time. Its usually scheduled, but sometimes parts of the country will go dark for days at a time without any indication of when power will be restored.
Another cycle of issues I saw was actually at my ministry. I was at a school where they will hit the kid’s hands when they disobey or do not listen. It took me a while to get used to, but then I realized that hitting them was the only way they received discipline. My team tried to make them stand against a wall, be silent, or sit down as discipline, but we were only met by mocking faces and laughs. I never hit any of the kids, but anytime I tried to get kids to stop fighting my effort was ineffective. I am not saying that hitting the kids was the right thing to do, but how do we approach disciplining kids if they won’t receive it? This is a very interesting tension because I think it plays a large role in the high rates of violence in the townships. If violence is the only way that people receive discipline, it is also the only way they give discipline. But where does the cycle break? In school? At home? In community?
Systemic issues are issues that are deeper, they have history and roots. Issues that can not just be solved by one simple action or event. Systemic issues need systemic solutions that are also deeper, that are rooted in knowledge and strategy. The issues that I mentioned are problems that have gone deeper than just one person or program, they involve numerous levels. What are systemic solutions to these issues?
I don’t know, but we all need to do some brainstorming.
A thing that came to my mind while doing ministry is the ABCD’s, or Asset-Based Community-Development. This theory focuses on communities’ skills and assets rather than the community’s needs. A lot of times in ministry we seek to fulfill needs and serve wherever we can or think that help is needed. But I believe that missions would be more effective if we focused on where we could empower communities to build upon the things they are already doing well.
ABCD is based on four main foundations; community strengths, identifying and mobilizing individual strengths and passions, community-driven, and relationship-driven.
“We need to give up our role as an expert and start listening to the communities we work with, and belong to.” (Cunningham, G.)
In asset-based development the approach must be focused on what the community has, not what the community needs. Glass half-full, not empty. Also when communities are described as unsafe, toxic, or uneducated, individual members began to turn against each other. Labels like these can affect people drastically, people can fall into these labels and adopt them at traits. Then relationships within the community began to deteriorate. Typically funding services look for ‘needy communities’ which causes a lower self-image and causes people to be stuck in a cycle of hopelessness and dependence.
I believe that any community has the potential to develop on their own, they just need a catalyst and the encouragement to continue. As humans and ministers, it is our role to catalyze and encourage, not take over and do it ourselves. If a community has enough drive and the right resources it will develop. As outsiders, we can encourage education, healthy human practices, and a healthy human self-image.
The theory of asset-based community development is so interesting and complex, this is just the short intro to the theory that I can give you. If you would like to read more or read this entire thing, I strongly suggest reading this article.
https://sustainingcommunity.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/what-is-abcd/
Cunningham, G., & Mathie, A. (2002). Asset-Based Community Development — An Overview. Paper presented at the Asset Based Community Development Workshop, Bangkok. https://www.academia.edu/727922/Asset-based_community_development_An_overview
