Jesus Peace Action

YOUNG ADULT MINISTRY SOUTH AFRICA MISSION TRIP

Since its inception, the Young Adult Ministry of the Faith Community of Saint Sabina has quickly established itself as an integral part of the City of Chicago’s Auburn-Gresham revitalization area efforts, as well as the greater Chicago land area. The Young Adult Ministry continues to organize and successfully execute numerous events such as the third annual Night of Poetry (a fundraiser donating proceeds to strengthen Auburn-Gresham’s food pantry, the Saint Sabina Social Services Center), Domestic Violence and Healthy Relationships (a community forum dedicated to combating the efforts of domestic violence), as well as traveling to New Orleans, Louisiana to assist Habitat for Humanity in the reconstruction of homes ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Additionally, the ministry has collected several hundred canned goods for local social service agencies, sponsored a book drive providing reading materials for children and teens in juvenile detention centers, donated toys to infants whose parents were killed combating violence in Iraq and has been a voice toward ceasing gun violence in Chicago through community youth forums and outreach. While the Young Adult Ministry is making a direct impact within the local community, it continues its international outreach to the suffering and disenfranchised, specifically in war ridden and poverty-stricken areas of Africa such as Sudan and Ghana, where we’ve supported efforts to end genocide and provided for the Shekinah HIV/AIDS Clinic.

In 2008, the Young Adult Ministry supported the dream of Peter Magai, a survivor of the decade’s long war and food crisis, by orchestrating a fundraiser dedicated to the construction of an elementary school that educates over 300 students in his home village. Peter is only one of thousands of children who were separated from their families by war and were forced to become self-sufficient within a band of orphaned children. They survived by caring for themselves and young children alone. Fleeing for refugee camps, ten and eleven year olds became the village elders, while seven and eight year olds became each others’ parents, sharing sips of muddy water, and burying their dead. Most were never to see their parents again. While the story of Peter has a successful ending, it does not account for the thousands of orphaned children in Sudan who continue to struggle for daily survival.

In the upcoming year, our ministry will extend our international humanitarian efforts to Durban, South Africa, where we hope to make an even greater impact in the lives of children. The ministry will provide outreach in the form of food, education, and empowerment for a community of children living on the streets of Durban through the Give Meaning: South Africa Ubuntu Project.

By making a monetary donation today, you will assist us in offsetting fees and cost that seem to be unreachable at the moment such as transportation and lodging. Furthermore, we believe that with the generous support of people like you, we will be able to help the children and families of South Africa to not only meet their essential daily needs, but to work toward a brighter future.