Diepsloot Outreach Program

Diepsloot is the name of a river that runs to the north of Joburg in the Gauteng province of South Africa.  It gave its name of a township that started out as a transit camp in 1995.  Over time the settlement became permanent, and it is now home to about 16,000 families.  For a fuller description of the Diepsloot community and its history, see this Wikipedia article.

From the time that the Diepsloot settlement was first established, a number of churches were concerned about the high level of unemployment (about 50%) and consequent poverty in the community.  There are also a large number of orphans and child-headed homes in the area that need help.  Bryanston Methodist Church lead a coalition of many churches to buy a smallholding on the east side of the Diepsloot settlement.  Many different religious and other organisations expressed an interest in establishing ministries and community services on this land, so a Section 21 not-for-profit company was established to own and operate the land and all of the amenities developed upon it.

The undertaking is called Bophelong, place of life.