Melusi
Children and youth worker & Practical helper
- South Africa
- Minimum 3 months
- 400 € per month
Country
Melusi is located close to Dundee, a small town located in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, rich in history and natural beauty. Known for its coal mining heritage and as a key site in South Africa’s battlefield tourism, it played a significant role in the Anglo-Zulu War and other historic conflicts.
Dundee has a subtropical highland climate, with pleasant summers and cool, dry winters.
Tasks
In accordance to the Melusi-motto „Serving Christ, serving others“, great emphasis is given to service in all areas of work.
- Mornings: practical work. Our men work, together with the homeless natives, in maintenance, upkeep and conversion of the grounds. Women are either in the community kitchen, the vegetable garden or doing housework.
- Afternoons: short-term helpers take part in various programs (kids club, bible study, football outreach…) in the townships. Therefore every individual is encouraged to contribute with their personal gifts (Devotionals, worship leading, games).
- Weekends: Group work for the Sunday services (worship, audio and sound, kids church…). Also, there are monthly children and youth retreats, discipleship afternoons, children days and similar actions.
- The Melusi Team meets multiple times a week to talk about the work, pray together and have teaching.
Project
Melusi is a Christian community, which has been called to serve God and people in desperate need for more than 30 year. Therefore the focus lies on the poorest of the poor in Dundee and the surrounding townships.
Ministries:
- Temple Gate Ministry – Housing project for up to 30 homeless people, most of whom are men with addictions. The men live in the community and take part in a work-program, bible studies and weekly church services. The aim is that they meet God and find new hope and a future through him.
- Food for Work – Men and women from the surrounding hut-settlements work in big vegetable gardens, community kitchens and as cleaners in the Melusi premises. For their work, they receive a food package. Every working day starts with a devotional, prayer and singing.
- Siya Sebenza – Training and Job centre. Unemployed people are trained through different courses, in order to find work. Also, they receive help to find and get jobs.
- Outreaches – Evangelistic house-to-house visits, small bible studies, distribution of food packages, practical support for individuals and families in the poorest settlements of Dundee.
- Work with children and young people – various evangelistic programs in the townships:
kids clubs, youth bible studies, Melusi United Football teams. Also, regular children and youth retreats, youth days and yearly conferences are offered in Melusi.
- Melusi Fellowship – a cross-denominational, evangelical church, which meets on the Melusi premises and belongs to people from all social levels. 70-100 visitors at the Sunday service + 130-150 children in Kids Church.
Team
8 long-term workers with 7 children + 2-8 short-termers
Particular Benefits
big and beautiful lands, lots of variety with different tasks, good team and community life
Challenges
Lots of different cultures in the team, flexibility is needed for the diverse work, long working hours (40 hours per week), apartheid in South Africa hasn’t yet been overthrown, little free time opportunities in and around Dundee, lots of criminality in the country.
Leisure activities
Safaris (far away), hiking in the mountains (a car is necessary- short-termers are usually not allowed to drive), watch videos/films, reading, game evenings, football and swimming in the summer
