Faithways Church
Overview
Faithways Church is a church organization based in South Africa. The church vision is to build a self-sustaining community through social and moral support and to teach and educate the people according to God’s ways.
Past Activities
The best way to help blacks in pre-Mandela days was via a structure like a church.
There were very little social services in operation at that time and very few links available to government agencies; police protection was also necessary for whites entering a black area.
Faithways Church is therefore the cornerstone of the community in Pimville, South Africa. A feeding scheme was set up in1980, run by Reverend Siphu Benghu, in response to the desperate needs of the poor, hungry and unemployed who populate this town. After Siphus’ death the feeding scheme was taken over by Johnathan Maphilke and there were numerous squatter camps with large numbers of young orphans; the most severely affected were those living in Pomer Park, Kliptown Angola and Nancefield. As there were such limited amounts of food, the children were at best being sent to school (for those lucky enough to attend) hungry which affected their concentration and therefore their ability to study. With the increase in the levels of Aids and HIV related deaths, the number of orphans and homeless children increased leading to the church providing their only meal of the day.
Paul Ekon, a South African born businessman started the feeding scheme with Siphu Bengu in 1980 until 2008, after having re-located to England. Ekon helped finance the implementation of soup kitchens and the staff to run them in four different locations through which more than 400 children a day were fed in Soweto. Paul Ekon helped improve the lives of this community, and paid for two new centers. After Ekon came under financial strain due to the economic crash of 2008, the project encountered monetary difficulties and had to close certain areas down.
Current Activities
At present, the Church, run by Johnathan Maphilke, is helping former prison inmates to re-enter community life and is desperate to return to its original program of helping those in need. Unfortunately, the South African government is no longer subsidizing these projects and has focused its attention on bigger organizations, leaving places like Faithways church to try and raise funds alone.
As a church organization, there will be a strong focus on HIV and Aids counseling and support, as well as a rehabilitation program. The church is also trying to build a new center that will focus on skills development, feeding scheme for the children, and moral regeneration.