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  • Why South Africa

    Click to see the map of the research trip
    Research Trip Pictures
    During Paradigm Shift’s research and development phase, ten different countries were considered for the pilot program: Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru, Brazil, Kenya, South Africa, India, Thailand, Indonesia, and The Philippines.

    Out of these countries, South Africa was chosen as the location for the pilot program for the following reasons:
    1. English - speaking
    2. Dual economies
    3. Strong local partner
    4. Excessive poverty in urban areas
    5. Churches poised to implement program
    6. Strategic time in the history of the country
    7. Easy access into the rest of Africa
    South Africa Pic 1 South Africa Pic 2

  • Country Profile

    South Africa has two economies, the formal economy, which is dominated by big corporations that attract large volumes of foreign direct investment into Africa, and the informal cash economy, which is made up mostly of small business traders. Paradigm Shift will be focusing its efforts on the informal economy where the needs are most pressing and where there are many opportunities to serve those in need.

    Recently, South Africa's government acknowledged an urgent need to accelerate efforts to tackle poverty and unemployment as it assessed the damage from a wave of deadly xenophobic attacks. The current events provide an excellent opportunity for the local church to significantly serve the working poor.

    South Africa is where the first and third worlds collide. With rampant AIDS, poverty and unemployment, the answers for South Africa’s problems are beyond government programs or policies ability to solve alone. Change must also occur from the grassroots level, through private enterprise and entrepreneurship.

    For many years, some Christian churches supported the oppressive Apartheid era. It is now time for Christians to become agents of reconciliation and change as South Africa progresses as a nation.

    Below are statistics which identify some of the deep needs in South Africa:
    • Around 40 percent of the estimated 48 million people are unemployed, while more than four million are believed to be living in dire poverty, earning less than a dollar a day.
    • An estimated 5.5 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, the highest of any country in the world, nearly 1 in every 5 adults.
    • Small business owners without a high school education account for approximately 66 percent of all jobs in the informal entrepreneurial sector.
    • Informal businesses find it far more difficult to obtain financing from banks or microfinanciers than formal entrepreneurs and are forced to rely on funding from friends and family. The average amount requested by informal businesses is $125.
    A recent study conducted by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor in South Africa found that training is highly needed for the informal sector entrepreneurs. The study found:
    • When entrepreneurs from South African townships were asked in what areas they would like training, more than 50 percent recognized their deficiency in record-keeping. Owners of formal businesses indicated that they would like training in how to keep financial records. Over 40 percent of formal businesses indicated they wanted training in communication skills, marketing and their legal rights.
    • Fifty-two percent of informal businesses indicated the need for training in marketing, and over 30 percent indicated the need for training in communication skills and how to speak better English. Thirty-two percent of informal businesses also wanted to learn how to legally register their businesses.
    There are obviously great opportunities for financial, marketing and communications training, and microfinance for informal entrepreneurs. These are clearly services that the church can provide as a way of demonstrating the power of God’s love working through his people to see holistic life transformation.

  • Country Partner

    The Association of Christian Schools International’s (ACSI) US headquarters has recognized Paradigm Shift as an official partner in South Africa!

    ACSI has decades of credibility as a solid, parachurch ministry that provides resources, training and support for Christian schools in over 100 countries.

    We are thrilled to work with ACSI and look forward to the strategic opportunities this partnership provides.

    ACSI was established in 1978 and operates in over 106 countries and serves 1.2 million students. ACSI’s mission is to enable Christian educators and schools worldwide in order to effectively prepare students for life. The association leads schools to greater effectiveness through three main categories of services: school improvement, professional development, and services that meet the unique needs of students.

    The vision of ACSI is to be an association speaking with a viable and authoritative voice in education, consisting of effective Christian schools recognized as essential and contributing to the public good, so that Christian school students worldwide acquire wisdom, knowledge, and a Biblical worldview evidenced by a lifestyle of character, leadership, service, stewardship, and worship.

    ACSI wholeheartedly supports the collaborative partnership with Paradigm Shift and strategically foresees beyond the South African pilot program to expand the outreach to the international schools in over 30 countries.
    International Website: www.acsi.org
    South Africa Website: www.acsi.co.za

    Why ACSI?

    Christian Schools are excellent partners for Paradigm Shift’s program.

    ACSI schools are:

    • An asset to the strengthening of a community.
    • Supported by 5-10 churches who are invested in their communities.
    • Predominantly express a desire to create more effective outreaches through their students and facilities.
    • Usually inter-denominational and therefore neutral ground for partnering in outreach.
    • Have the facilities for training and workshops.
    • Have business-focused students who desire to implement practical ways to apply their studies.

    How?

    A partner school will provide its facilities as a “training base” for entrepreneurs who live in the slums within a 10-mile radius of their campus.

    Partner churches who are affiliated with a particular ACSI school will offer resources, personnel to become trainers, as well as finances to contribute to the loan-capital fund.

    Once church volunteers are trained, they will be partnered with a Paradigm Shift staff member and trained upper-level business students from the ACSI school.

    This group of six will lead the training of 15-to-25 entrepreneurs.

    Leaders will be committed to the success of their core 15 entrepreneurs for a minimum of seven months. Students will only be responsible for assisting in the four sessions of the Business Experience course, however they can continue to be involved as they wish

    Intended Outcome

    The major goal is to bring the Good News to the poor.

    The intended outcome for the school is:

    • Practical outreach happening as a result of offering their campuses as a resource.
    • Schools becoming agents of change within their communities.
    • Affiliated churches being more involved and fostering better relationships with the schools.
    • Business students using their knowledge and skills in effective outreach, and in doing so, furthering both their academics and their heart for evangelism.
    • Opportunities for students to fulfill community service hours.
    • 300 students actively assisting in facilitating the Business Experience course.
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