Jessica Todd, a dedicated member of the 360 group at St Patrick’s Parish Church, Ballymena, is travelling to South Africa this July as part of an Exodus team.
Along with 14 other young people and two leaders, Jessica will fly to Capetown and then travel by road to a remote area called Port Shepstone, home of the Norwegian Settlers Church.
Here the team will work alongside local church members and two other organisations – Seeds and Genesis. The Seeds’ organisation is a movement directed at teenagers and young adults. Its aim is to educate them about the dangers of HIV and Aids and it tries to give them an alternative to street life and knife crime by getting the boys involved in a gym and the girls in craft and beauty classes.
Younger children of primary school age are encouraged to come along to the Bible Club. A crèche for babies and toddlers gives a much needed rest to the sick parents.
Genesis aids the older folk by running a hospital where they can go for check-ups and be treated for their various ailments.
The team will be known as team Enzani; enzani is the Zulu word for ‘do’ and Jessica and the others in the group intend to ‘do’ and not just look. Their aim is to make a difference and help the community in every way they can, and with God’s help they will.
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