June 16, 2008Today is a holiday in South Africa. Youth Day celebrates the protests of young people who marched in 1976against what was described as Bantu education that tried to force them to be educated in Afrikaans rather than their native languages. Today President Mbeki said it is education and personal skills , school college and university that are criticallly important. It is a sad fact that all of the people with whom I work suffer because they have had little or no formal education, and therefore limited personal skills. But we ae here in the name of the Lord to make a difference. Last Friday, the sewing group signed up for their personal savings plan to help them put away some money to either grow their business or save for a home. I was moved by the laughter and joy with which they discused this new step. For almost all of them this was their first experience. Here three of them huddle over their new savings books. One woman told me, "I have never saved money before. I joined so it can help me"I praise God for all He has done and continues to do as we work to build personal skills among those who can truly be described as "the least of these."
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