Tembisa Youth Centre

For more than four years, Dialoog has been in an exciting partnership with a community called Tabernacle Church (and school) in Ivory Park, Tembisa. The connection is a strange one – Tabernacle Church is very Pentecostal and Dialoog is somewhat on the other side of the spectrum. It was the work of Dr Vincent Mathews, who is a friend to both churches, that inspired this odd relationship. Over the years, Dialoog has partnered with the leaders of the Tabernacle community to assist the youth with extra classes, career guidance workshops, conferences and various other educational activities.

We encourage all members of Dialoog to partake in this initiative. Not just because of the change that is needed in our townships, but the change that is needed in the hearts of the privileged suburbanites living in the East of Pretoria. Hence the aim of our relationship is not only to teach them, but also to be taught – not only to help, but to be helped. We believe that the church in South Africa cannot be blind to the difficult realities that so many are facing, and this initiative aims to break a few of those boundaries.

During Dialoog’s relationship with Tabernacle, and more specifically with their youth, we have managed to plant trees on their premises, expand their library to over 2000 books, gone on multiple excursions and holidays together, visited museums which explore our racially divided past, hosted winter schools and a talent show and above all, built relationships that will last a long time and hopefully help heal this country. There is still plenty that we want to achieve in this relationship and we invite you to buy into our vision by getting involved in one or more of the following ways:

• Tutor extra classes to high school students on two Saturday mornings a month
• Donate educational books and or working computer equipment
• Financial donations towards our various projects (see budget for 2017 below)
• Join or arrange a ‘sleep over’ in Ivory Park for suburban people or offer your home for a ‘sleep over’ visit from someone from Ivory Park.