Ron is continuing to run the daily  Job Club at St John’s congregation. He has been making time to build intentional relationships with the unemployed, many from his cell group. The Job Club has now begun to minister to the broader congregation and to members of other cell groups. He is quoted as in the newsletter as saying, “Friendships with the unemployed are not focussed solely on the job or career but are partnerships for doing life and following Jesus together.” I firmly believe that this is the foundation. Another member of the congregation is exploring becoming a regular facilitator which is encouraging.

Recently two academics from the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and University of Cape Town (UCT) visited to see what Job Club entailed as part of their investigations into effective ways of addressing unemployment. They questioned the participants and recorded their responses which included:

• We research and share information on where to find opportunities, sort problems, pursue further training etc
• We are mutually accountable and keep each other moving forward each day 
• We encourage each other as we become discouraged at times
• We grow spiritually when we study the bible together on Sundays

Monwabisi and Ron are now engaging with this study group on an ongoing basis.

Ron faced some real challenges when a leader in the congregation challenged on whether Izenzo was fostering paternalism, dependency and whether the church should be involved in assisting with employment. While we believe this is not the case, Ron has asked the other members of the team to critically assess our methodology and to suggest changes if necessary.