Deep within rural Transkei, two hours over a winding dusty pot- hole filled road lies the sleepy coastal community called Coffee bay. The unspoilt natural beauty, rolling hills, expansive greenery the wide deep blue seas whose waves crash incessantly upon the endless while sandy beaches belie the deep and degrading hopelessness and poverty which pervades the area. Local inhabitants of the region are plagued by extreme poverty, illiteracy, and a foreboding sense of hopelessness, which drives many into vices such as crime, drug abuse, promiscuity and general vagrancy.
Many of the young people have usurped authority rom the local elders and as such, this beautiful region of the ‘wild coast’ has not lived up to its potential in terms of human development.
It was against this backdrop that Pastor Don Phillips, Senior Pastor of RUCC Ministries went into negotiations and discussions with the local community, which resulted in RUCC Ministries building a center for the community.
The center consists of several buildings, which will house projects such as a Bed and Breakfast, a restaurant, meeting hall, kitchen, ablution facilities as well as a skills development center. These facilities are envisaged to become a focal point in the community and be a source of employment, societal transformation, job creation and a hub for change where the face of poverty will be changed into a success story of prosperity within the rural areas.
Projects planned for coffee bay
- Sewing project
- Cooking and baking
- Bead work and jewelry
- Agriculture (kitchen gardens and co-ops)
Services:
- Mobile clinic (community base primary health care)
- Home based care
- Health awareness campaigns
- Early childhood development center
Capacity building (empowerment):
- Brick making
- Hospitality training
- Agriculture
- Sewing
- Bead work and jeweler
Job Creation:
- Coffee Shop
- Accommodation