A Ministry to Street Children of Joubert Park, Johannesburg

Abstract

Introduction: Our cities, especially those in developing countries like South Africa, have become hives of straying children. Joubert Park, Johannesburg, is one of those suburbs clogged by street children with nowhere to go at night or during cold weather. The street children, most of them aged thirteen to sixteen, fall victim to crime. Problem: Most street children are found to be driven under the influence of substances and drugs of different kinds. The children turn out to be a problem in the city streets, and they are at risk of being kidnapped or killed. Several of these street children were once arrested for shoplifting or other such notorious cases. Purpose: This article aims to develop a ministry intervention to rehabilitate and restore street children in Joubert Park, Johannesburg. Children on the streets can then be rescued and placed in shelters, where continuous intervention is used to restore them to everyday life. Discussions: The issue of children born into a world of pain and subjected to stress and suffering has a Biblical expanse from creation. Longman and Garland suggest that “the judgment against the woman relates to her children and her husband. She will now bear children in increased pain or toil.”[1] The pain is not an end in and of itself. The pain continues even as the children grow up; the pain exists from generation to generation, all because there is a child to be born. As they grow, these children happen to cause more pain to the family. It also affects the community and the society at large. Though cursed and banished from the Garden of Eden, humanity suffers, and their turmoil is not final; in verse 16, God also brings happiness. According to Longman & Garland, “the pain of every birth is a reminder of the futility of the fall; they are a sign of an impending joy.”[2] Children, though their arrival is painful, are also coupled with joy. The promised joy of the coming of the redeemer is also mentioned in the same passage, ‘and you shall bruise His heel.’ After much struggle, the woman’s seed will defeat the serpents. Victory is guaranteed after all the pain and the struggles. Scholars like Kaiser Jr. suggest that “most surprising of all, however, the male child of the woman’s ‘seed’ would strike back by crushing the head of the Serpent. This, of course, will be a lethal blow.”[3] This view is not generally accepted. While the victory is futuristic, it is in this victory of the woman’s seed that the human race’s conflict shall end. Hence, support for the liberation of women’s seeds is fascinating. Findings: Street children in cities like Joubert Park and Johannesburg are a severe concern for municipal management and city businesses. Organizations and institutions around the city need to attend to the street children. Churches and companies need to be involved; building more shelters and homes for street children is ideal for now. Street children must be rehabilitated to adjust to real life and removed from the city streets. Rehabilitated street children need continuous intervention to safeguard against relapses. Governments and private organizations can assist by planning for the street children when they are reunited with their families or communities.