Sustainability

South Africa is such a complex society. The diversity in landscape along with the people is breathtakingly beautiful. Everyone has an opinion about life after Apartheid, but most agree that the government is struggling to change a system that went quickly from oppression when Apartheid ended, to attempts to right past wrongs through social welfare that was not sustainable. It seems that what is on everyone's mind here is how to improve opportunity through education and employment--instead of providing handouts, promoting hand-ups. The country, like so many other African nations is filled with NGO's attempting to partner with local communities to do this work as well. I interviewed one such leader, Paul Durant, Director of the South African branch of Habitat for Humanity here in Capetown.

Paul is another example of a young entrepreneur who made it big in the IT business, but found the chase after money and things to be unsatisfying. He was born to a privileged life in South Africa and migrated to the UK for schooling and business. The gap between rich and poor in both places was a wake up call that his life needed to be about something else. Upon volunteering with Habitat and other NGO's he discovered a different type of satisfaction that occurred concurrently with it a spiritual awakening. Now he leads the South African arm of Habitat in Capetown.

He is attempting to shift the focus of Habitat from home building alone (handout) to community development in partnership with other agencies that can meet the needs of any given community (hand-up) including the training and development of local community councils, enabling them to take over the sustainability of aid provided once the NGOs move on. Paul is attempting to develop the people in his office in much the same way. Once again, I discovered the true merit of a Servant Leader is being smart enough and invested enough to work yourself out of a job!