| Ministering to the poor and vulnerable |
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Aim International has links with projects that work among the poor and vulnerable. If you have a heart to see the needs of these people met spiritually and physically then you could get involved in reaching out to them. This could include running soup kitchens, teaching practical skills to help get back into employment, running Bible studies and just simply getting alongside people, caring for them and praying with them. 
Alun Burt, Cape Town, South AfricaAlun worked with the homeless at U-Turn, Cape Town, South Africa John is a man we met sitting in the middle of a stream one sunny day, washing his feet. He saw that Joe was carrying a bible and asked us to read it with him! So we all sat in the middle of this stream and carried on an impromptu bible study. Since then John has started coming to church with us and we are getting to know him better.
Debbie Cannon, Cape Town, South AfricaDuring the Summer of 2005 Debbie Cannon led a Synergy Team to work with U-Turn. In February, Debbie returned to work with U-Turn for a year. My afternoon in the park allowed me to find a lot of old friends. Huddled together around a small fire, I found Denise and baby Zelda. I have brought Zelda trousers, a jumper, nappies and some porridge. These provisions are a very unsatisfactory solution until the Aids project with the street women and orphans gets underway. I then introduce myself to a grandmother whose circumstances mirror those of so many here. I wait for her to speak, but she doesn’t for a while. Then the tears come. It turns out that this woman has been on the streets now for over 20 years. She has lost her husband, her boyfriend and her children. She stinks of alcohol, and she tells me between the splutters that she never drank before the deaths, but grief has taken over her life. I wonder how many more are out there in this town tonight, mulling over the same predicament. 
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 06 September 2007 ) |