ACCELERATE CENTRES
In a country facing the challenge of unemployment, our Accelerate Centres take under-skilled people on the journey of employment. This is done through specialized skills training and individual mentoring. The Hillsong Africa Foundation aims to empower those seeking employment through what we call the ‘ABC phases’: From ‘A job’, to a ‘Better job’, to a ‘Career’. So far we have seen 103 people employed through Accelerate. This is an exciting statistic that we believe to grow exponentially in the future.

SHINE
Shine is an 8-week personal development and mentorship program that takes place in schools, community centres and churches across South Africa, and is overseen by some of our amazing volunteers. Shine is based on three foundational concepts: worth, strength and purpose; with the focus of placing value on women from all walks of life. At the moment, we have 81 programs, running every six months, across communities, shelters, schools, universities and work places. We recently got this positive feedback from a sergeant at a local police station, who wrote: “My personal view [is] … we can fight crime till we blue in the face and nothing will change … if we don’t introduce our communities, and our children to Jesus, we won’t win this war on crime.”

STRENGTH
Strength aims to raise up men in a way that encourages them to take responsibility in their own lives as well as in building this nation. This 5-week course is built on the principles of significance, resilience and courage. It explores topics such as addiction, relationships, anger and the state of the modern man. Over the past year, we have seen 67 Strength courses completed.

CARE VOUCHERS
Every day we come into contact with people who are in need. Our “We Care” initiative with the Hillsong Africa Foundation provides a safe and practical way to help meet needs in our communities. The Care Vouchers are available in the form of shelter and food vouchers. Each shelter voucher provides a night’s accommodation (including a warm meal and shower); and the food vouchers, from Pick n Pay, enable people to buy food and toiletries only (prohibiting the purchase of alcohol and cigarettes). We have already seen so many miracle stories take place through the distribution of these care vouchers. To date we have given out a total of 16 279 care vouchers. Each care voucher is a means to take action and be a blessing.