A note from Robert Botha, founder and managing director of the James 1:27 Trust in Pretoria, South Africa.
To the supporters and Kingdom investors of the Noviskie family:
More than ten years ago we were given a mandate from James 1:27 from which we were called to care for orphans and widows in their troubles and to refuse to let the world corrupt us. The context for the mandate was in the face of a roaring HIV and AIDS epidemic in which 5.7 million South Africans out of a popuplation of about 50 million were living with HIV. The consequence of which was that we have more 1.5 milion maternal orphans and many more millions affected by the twin devastations of HIV and other communicable diseases such as tuberculosis. We also know that children made vulnerable by the epidemic suffer stigma and discrimination and are 25% more likely to suffer some form of abuse. This is indeed tragic for the post-apartheid South Africa.
It is into this vortex of destruction that we as a ministry have been called to bring hope by empowering communities to provide holistic care and discipleship to their children and connecting donors across the globe in a personal way so they can see the impact of their investments. We are building innovative systems that are scalable with hopes to make a significant impact at a national and continental level. As the information society provides an opportunity from which to harvest resources, we need many multi-disciplinary experts. One example is our use of life cycle technology to break the “life cycle of poverty”. Holistic care within a responsibility script and children’s right framework make for dramatic Kingdom expansion possibility.
A few years ago, a prophetic Word was given to us that an American couple would come to assist in the work. I believe that Mike and Chandra Noviskie are that couple. It is a season and gift of time that we are incredibly grateful for. Mike's technical acumen, people skills, and years of being a technology translator between the engineers and the users of systems is making an immediate difference. Chandra's experience with children's ministry and with training children's workers, along with her current involvement in several child-centered community development and missions efforts here in South Africa, is a great asset to us as we develop basic discipleship plans for vulnerable children who have little or no exposure to the Gospel and for their primary care providers (a granny, an uncle, parents, or others), and for the community care workers who work with them. We want to maintain a Christ-centred point of departure for holistic care, which is essential for any level of success and transformation.
We remain confident that the One that has called us is able to complete the task, despite our many weaknesses, faults, fears and concerns. Thank you for your support for the Noviskie family. Be assured that it is making a substantial difference in our lives, in our work with our community-based care partners, and in our service for the King.
Robert Botha
James 1:27 Trust
16 August 2012
