Verster, Empowering the poor: The Bible and the poor in informal settlements ...v. inculturate Christianity,
vi. develop a culture of morality among the people,
vii. uphold Christian values to the youth,
viii. initiate education programmes for all people,
ix. create a spirit of fellowship among people, and
x. press for the cancellation of the foreign debts to Africa.
Although it must be said that not all of these is possible or acceptable,
such as the cancellation of debt, the church’s involvement should be to
bring about a new perspective on the challenges of poverty in Africa.
Mills (2010:30) writes: “What countries need to do to be competitive,
however, does not demand technological or policy rocket science. East
Asia, in an earlier era, had managed a similar economic and social revo-
lution. A basic formula worked there: good, efficient government com-
mitted to popular welfare coupled with a hard-working, increasingly
skilled and educated labour force.” Therefore to develop Africa it is abso-
lutely necessary to understand that sustainable enhancement of the
material wellbeing of people can only be achieved if there is productive
investment in productive capacity. The private sector has to play a very
important role in this, includes ensuring the effective functioning of all
government at all levels, across all agencies (Mills 2010: 32). Mills
(2010:32) refers to the difference between Africa’s economies, where
there is a lack of development and positive growth, and he also refers to
China and India where the opposite is taking place at the moment.
China and India opened up to the global world, they made it possible for
many people to invest, they continued to develop their own people and
they chose policies in which capital could be used to enhance the lives of
their people. In Africa, due to the policies of the leaders, it is very diffi-
cult to develop the people in such a way that they can become partners of
their own future. There are many instances in Africa where the devel-
opment of the people and the development of the country are hampered
by the government policies and also by corruption and other problems.
The church can be instrumental in helping with small business enter-
prises helping people to provide for themselves. They can help by inspir-
ing people in the community to start with jobs. They can be present in
the informal settlement communities by sending out teams to help the
churches in the informal settlements and building them up. Africa has a
serious challenge. The challenge can only be met if the church, in deal-
ing with these challenges, is present and are willing to be involved with