PHOENIX

Partner: Cornerstone Community Church

Phoenix is said to be one of the oldest Indian settlements in South Africa, founded in 1904 by Mahatma Gandhi. Later Phoenix was established in 1976 as a township, and is now home to 600,000 residents. This area is diverse, predominantly Hindu and Christian in religious following, largely made up of Black African and Indian people. Current issues facing this community include crime, drugs, domestic violence and illegal dumping. CAST partners with Cornerstone Community Church, which has been active in Phoenix since 2000. Phoenix is a resilient community, finding strength in strong family and cultural values, pursuit of educational opportunities for youth, as well as small business development and entrepreneurship.

CAST partnered with Cornerstone Community Church in 2016, and has subsequently launched Education and Child Development programming with 52 learners participating, as well as Sport and Youth Development in surrounding schools. By mid-2018, already 200 people in this community have benefitted, with a marked improvement made in the reading and writing skills of learner participants.

Partner churches/organisations and the year each partnership was established: Cornerstone Senior Citizens (2016), Rydalvale Primary (2017),  Rydalpark Secondary (2017), Clayheights Primary (2018), King Priest Ministries (2018), Getsamane (2016).

Programmes currently implemented, including average monthly statistics: