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RAys of Hope

Vision day -kicking off 2017 with a bang!!!

For Rays of Hope, the last few months of 2016 went by in a blur of meetings, planning sessions, budget calculations and presentations. Under the guidance of Director Sihle Mooi, the organisation took a long, hard look at itself, its structure, operations, values and priorities. Ahead lay 2017, with the promise of hard work, increased focus, new challenges and potential success stories. On Saturday, January 21, everything came together with a grand presentation of what is in store. This was Rays of Hope’s Vision Day. Over one hundred and twenty staff and volunteers arrived for lunch. It was a steamy hot summer’s day in Johannesburg and everyone piled into the boerie rolls, salads and ice-cold drinks, catching up with friends and looking forward to hearing what lies in store for them and the people of Alex. Inside, Sihle stood in front of a slide showing the sprawling metropolis that is Alex, just a stone’s throw from the Sandton CBD, Africa’s business hub. He took everyone back 26 years. “It was 1991, three years before the birth of our democracy. Aware of the deep disparities in the country and their own privilege, a group of young adults at Rosebank Union Church were challenged to put their Christian beliefs into action. The result was a Saturday school called Rose-Act, which is short for Rosebank Action for Christ Today. That school remains a pillar of Rays of Hope today,” he told the audience. Sihle then explained how Rays of Hope will be structured in future, the three basic pillars being orphans and vulnerable children, education and work readiness. Within these focus areas there have been some structural changes, one of them being the potential creation of a ‘village’ for young vulnerable children, now that the JD Group has made the property in Marlboro Gardens, consisting of four separate houses, available to Rays of Hope. Sihle focussed on the philosophy of the organisation. “We are not about quick fixes, preferring to walk the walk with people over the long term. We also do not try to help everyone. We simply cannot be all things to all people but use a ‘laser focuses on a few key areas in order to make lasting change, for the sake of the many. Finally we work with individuals and families to help them find solutions to their problems. We do not have all the answers. Our mission statement – ‘partnering with Alex to create lasting change’ – says it all.” “We also need to change. As we engage with the people of Alex we discover that God challenges our hearts. We have to change our perceptions; stereotypes need to be broken down; we need to build empathy, understanding and collaboration between people from townships and suburbs: rich, poor, black and white. Alex and Sandton are effectively a microcosm of the whole country with its great inequalities. Our prayer is that God will replicate this dynamic in every township and suburb in our country.” Each of the project co-ordinators gave a brief outline of his or her activities, outlining their priorities for 2017. Sarah van Zyl’s explanation of Ignition was cheered loudly by fifteen of the project’s university students who were at the RUC campus for their start-of-year seminar. Then it was time for long-standing volunteers to receive certificates of recognition, before Sihle closed the day with these thoughts: “This year, Rays of Hope will focus on three key areas: First, seek God. Because apart from Christ we can do nothing. Second, use partnerships. Our work is about relationships, we will build partnerships with institutions and structures in Alex. And finally, strive for operational excellence in all that we do.” The crowd left, realising that what lies ahead will involve hard work, dedication and sacrifice for the people of Alex. But, underneath it all, the foundation is God: his will, his way and by his providence.

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