Medical Care, Water Wells & Job Training Help Poor South Africans

Soweto, South Africa -- Waterworks Squatter Camp is home to 4,500 children and adults. Wooden shacks covered by metal sheets line the dusty roads. Even though the community is close to Johannesburg, electricity, sanitation and running water don’t exist. But unfortunately disease is a part of every day life.

Sandi Dora’s Doctors Visit
“She couldn’t walk, so I brought her in a wheelbarrow,” said Ruben. The 50-year-old Waterworks resident was speaking of his friend and neighbor, Sandi Dora. This mode of transportation was the only way the dehydrated and weak woman was able to reach a doctor at a recent medical mission sponsored by Operation Blessing and its partners Crossroads International, Window of Hope and Jesus is the Answer Ministries.

Sandi Dora had not been able to eat for days. The older woman told the doctor, “I can’t go on. I just want to die”. Her outlook quickly changed when she was examined and given some medicine. Sandi was one of 457 patients and received one of 1,316 prescriptions that were filled during the three-day mission.

Digging Fresh Water Wells
Another way Operation Blessing addresses health needs is by making sure communities have access to fresh water. Many diseases stem from drinking contaminated water, so OBI teams work to dig clean wells in South Africa. The Valley of 1,000 Hills was recently the site of one of 86 wells that are being dug in the Kwa Zulu Natal province.

Inner City Mission Helps Thousands
In addition to setting up temporary medical clinics and digging wells throughout the year, Operation Blessing also has an inner city mission in Johannesburg. Over the last year, this city mission helped the area’s homeless population by providing more than 40, 000 meals, distributing 500 blankets during the winter, giving out clothing and assisting over 200 people apply for and receive their ID documents. Without those documents many are unable to get jobs or health care.

Learning to Sew
Fifty percent of South Africans live below the poverty line. Operation Blessing is combating this problem by training men and women with marketable skills like sewing. Right now dozens of students are learning to sew in OBI’s twenty-eight centers across South Africa. Students in the Hazyview sewing center recently received an order for 150 school uniforms. Once they completed the project, the profit helped them provide for their families.

Theressa Mzila is one of 22 students taking classes at our Pietermaritzburg center in the Lord’s Counseling Room. This mother of one already has a fulltime job, but her family is still struggling. Under the instruction of the center’s teacher and professional clothing designer named Nathan, Theressa is making clothing that is good enough to sell. In order to graduate, she needs to complete five different types of garments, but is well on her way!

Pastor David Peters of the Lord’s Counseling Room observed, “More than a sewing center, this ministry is being very successful and is changing the lives of many people by equipping them with practical training and spiritual and emotional encouragement. We are very grateful to Operation Blessing for the initiative they showed when they brought the first sewing machines and initial training here.”

Help break the cycle of suffering!