Grace Aid tackles poverty with training programmes
The NPO believes the only way to beat poverty and unemployment is by promoting self-sustainability.
LAST year, Provincial Premier, Senzo Mchunu, announced that more than three million people in KwaZulu-Natal were living below the poverty line.
What’s more, media have reported that not only are over five million people in South Africa unemployed, but 15 million people are not economically-active, mainly because of a lack of education.
With these alarming statistics, it’s not hard to imagine that some non-profit organisations (NPOs) or altruists could be left feeling overwhelmed or disheartened by what seems like an impossible battle.
However, this is not the case for the dedicated team at Grace Family Church in uMhlanga.
Through the church’s NPO, Grade Aid, the organisation now offers three skills development courses, including tarning or crocheting, sewing and business training, as well as life skills and job readiness classes to people from disadvantaged communities.
Skills development programme
The life skills course not only tests the aptitude and abilities of the beneficiaries, but also gives classes to inspire hope and build self-esteem, explained Dave Richter, missions and justice coordinator at the church.
The job readiness class, as the name suggests, prepares the beneficiaries for the job market. During the classes, the students are taught how to set up a professional e-mail address and curriculum vitae as well as given some preparation in terms of the interview process.
“Our programme is in line with the National Development Plan designed to alleviate poverty and create jobs. It is our desire to help improve the lives of as many people as we can,” said Richter.
Kelly van der Walt, the missions and justice coordinator, echoed his sentiments, saying the aim of the programme is to tackle the problems facilitating poverty rather than ‘treating the symptoms’.
“A hand-out or donation is not the solution to poverty, it simply fuels it. There are times that a donation is the only option available, but for the most part it lowers self-esteem and dignity and creates a dependency,” she said.
“Through our programmes, we shape self-sustainable adults who are able to care for themselves and their families. Poverty is not too big if we all simply strive to ‘pay it forward’. By doing for one person what we would hope to do for all, we make a small but incredible impact,” she said.
One of the beneficiaries of the programmes, Nkosentsha Shezi, has started his own recycling business and is able to provide provide an income to 27 people from KwaMashu, Inanda and Ntuzuma.
