Volmoed Youth Leadership Training Programme

31/10/2026

Volmoed Youth Weekly Update: 26 - 30 October 2026

Dear friends

A complete surprise this week, was the unveiling of a Desmond Tutu statue at Bishop’s school in Cape Town. This is really good, to grow the awareness and consciousness of the young learners there and to keep his memory alive. As Archbishop of Cape Town, he visited this school many times and the boys and staff there must have loved his visits. We are also seeing some beautiful Desmond Tutu roses at Volmoed, so his presence is with us everywhere!

There are many memorable Tutu quotes one can share. On of my favourite ones is what he said to a group of young people: “Go make life beautiful, especially for the poor”. Saint Desmond, pray for us as we attempt to do this.

The Volmoed AGM on Thursday: members of the Volmoed community gathered at the chapel on Thursday to renew the Volmoed covenant and to listen to reports about the progress at Volmoed, which is in a state of transition. We all know that transitions can be dangerous moments, but it seems to be held on track at Volmoed. Yesterday, we met to iron out how this will affect the Youth programme and I am happy to report that we are close to signing a Memorandum of Agreement that will guide the way forward. Saint Desmond, pray for us…

We remembered some “Volmoed saints” on Thursday, chief among them Barry Wood, the co-founder of Volmoed. His wife Molly Wood (not to be confused with Bollywood!) is a fervent pray-er at Volmoed, and she really acts as a Matriarch for the young people. Molly attended both the 10th anniversary and the more recent gathering at St Peter’s and always encourage us in our work. Thank you Molly for your amazing ministry of prayer and presence!

One of the joys at Volmoed today, something that our chaplain Wilma has been encouraging, is the multilingual songs and Scripture readings and the broad participation in the liturgy. It was wonderful to hear a booming voice during the prayers from one of the Volmoed staff (Pastor Deon). We have amazing staff at Volmoed and it is important to pray for all of them. Saint Desmond, pray for all Volmoed staff.

To really encourage and support them and the work they do, please book a night or a weekend on www.volmoed.co.za . You can even book it and gift it to someone who might need a rest.

Yesterday, the young people made us proud by attending a walk for cancer awareness in Mount Pleasant and drumming with those living with cancer and their supporters. Saint Desmond, pray for all living with cancer….

Friends: November is upon us! This week we will welcome Ruth Harvey from the Iona community at the Thursday 10h00 service and she will also do a public lecture on Friday evening 7pm at the Volmoed chapel, where we will also welcome the delegates to the Annual colloquium.

And next week 12 - 13 November (drumroll…..) we will welcome two brothers here from the Taizé community! We are very close to them so it is a special joy to have some of them amongst us. In his homily on Thursday, John mentioned that Martin Marty wrote that “one day, Volmoed will be mentioned alongside communities such as Taize and Iona”. It is happening in real time, and can deepen. At least we can say we had Desmond Tutu as patron! St Desmond, continue to pray for Volmoed, with its roses, buds and thorns. May it continue to be a place of hospitality, especially for the most marginalised.

Rev. Edwin Arrison
VYLTP Director
Email: [email protected]

A place to unwind. 90 minutes from Cape Town. Set in its own little valley of 130 hectares of fynbos, Volmoed offers a peaceful venue for individuals, family holidays, weddings, conferences and church retreats. Volmoed offers comfortable accommodation in well-equipped houses accommodating 2 to 12 pe...

24/10/2026

Volmoed Youth Weekly Update: 19 - 24 October 2026

Hi Everyone!

Thank you for the many beautiful birthday wishes I received this week, with several pre- and post-birthday gifts and surprises. One of these pre-birthday gifts was to welcome Hans and Barbro Engdahl from Sweden back to Volmoed and to the RDP - the place where Volmoed Youth make the African drums.

Hans and Barbro were the ones who invited me to visit Sweden in 1987 (almost 40 years ago) after they had spent years raising the funds to build a Lutheran Youth Centre in Athlone. This Centre became the Cape Town home for us young activists in the 1980s. The Lutheran Church really made sure that there was this welcoming and organising space for all anti-apartheid activists and particularly for those of us in the faith sector.

In 1986, the same year when Volmoed was launched close to Hermanus, the Lutheran youth centre was the urban space in the Western Cape where we could gather to organise and be refreshed. I remember Arch Tutu preaching a sermon at the church there just before the Svensson-Johansson couple was banned from South Africa. This is also the place where we started the march to free Nelson Mandela from Pollsmoor prison in 1986. Unfortunately we were all arrested on the day and taken to Pollsmoor prison for that weekend! We did not get to see or free Mandela. We (the black male prisoners) had an interfaith Eucharist service in our prison cell that Sunday morning, where Sheikh Gabier read one of the Scripture readings from the Quran. He and some of the Muslim activists may even have received the Eucharist (brown bread and juice) but I cannot be sure. This was 40 years ago.

I know that many Christians are uncomfortable to imagine a broader ecumenism, one that involve all people of faith, but given the immense polarization in our world, as well as the major challenges of AI, economic inequality and climate injustice, people of faith should really all be working for unity, reconciliation, justice and peace so that we can deal with these challenges. Every single human being is after all created in the image of God. For Africans, this should not be difficult to understand, as ALL human beings on planet earth flow from us, here at the southern part of Africa. The good news that Jesus brought was therefore most inclusive. In the Nicene creed we even say that “he descended to the dead”, not to some of the dead but to all. Western Christianity simply cannot fathom this inclusive Jesus. It blesses war but not equality. We - especially those of us in and from Africa - should not be creating and encouraging these divisions or build levels of superiority in some quest to be “pure”. This is how ethnic and Christian nationalism take root. Ubuntu is the opposite of that.

We have unfortunately regressed significantly (in our thinking, in our spirituality, in our activism) since the 80s. The end of legal apartheid in South Africa - but not economic apartheid - somehow made us lose our courage. How shall we be revived? This Goliath of economic apartheid is still with us and if we do not develop the faith of a David, it will continue to be with us. What role can places such as the Lutheran Youth Centre, Volmoed and groups such as Volmoed Youth and others play in this revival so that these giants can also be defeated? We can definitely do it….

The Youth Centre in Athlone still exists but, as far as we know, it has very little life in it. Hans asked the question whether it can be resurrected. I do not (currently) have the answer for this, but what I do know is that the challenges on the Cape Flats are so huge that a space such as this are sorely needed to help revive especially the youth and other movements in the Western Cape. Will the Lutheran Church (with support from SACC W Cape Youth and Volmoed Youth) be able to resurrect it? The revival of a building that belongs to the Church, if it is going to contribute to the common good, has to have a concomitant revival of a spirituality of Jesus, justice, jazz and joy. The only question is: Are we up for it?

For this week: Please keep the Volmoed Youth leadership team and the Volmoed Trust in your prayers as we discern the way forward this week. On Thursday, at our normal weekly service, we have a renewal of the “Volmoed covenant”. Pray for a renewal as we get ready to host representatives from both Iona and Taize at Volmoed in November.

I do not know if anyone remembers Ed de la Torre from the Phillipines. He was the one who spoke about how veins get calcified and how we need to unblock our veins for life-blood to flow freely again. This is true for human beings but also for organisations and institutions. We desperately need this unblocking of calcified veins to happen everywhere.

Looking back over this past week, our young people were trained in first aid on Thursday and Friday and we look forward to see how they will put their new skills into action, especially when life is at stake.

The question remains: Where can we find hope or “disciplined optimism”? I was alerted to the latter phrase by Seth Naicker, who quoted Adrian Gore. One answer comes someone such as Dullah Omar, our first justice Minister, who spoke about living the future in embryo now. We normally call this “realized eschatology”. Dullah possibly understood the kindom of God better than most Christians, and he really lived it.

I am reminded that Arch Tutu once said: “Look to the rock from which you were hewn!”. For a time such as this, we all really need to do that more and more and pass this spirituality on to the young people who face a much more complex world: one where algorithms and AI want to dictate the future and keep us all in mental slavery. Enough! Let’s make a decisive break with that and hold onto each other as we move forward together.

Apologies for these mini-sermons. Before I end, we had a wonderful expression of what I am writing about at the United Church in Hermanus last Saturday. The Zwelihle Youth choir was simply magnificent! Miracles are happening and some of us are privileged to be sitting in the front-seat witnessing it all. Let us embrace it in all its complexity and not be left out of this, lest we act like the grumpy elder brother of the prodigal son who could not enter or grasp the Father’s joy. Selah!

From: Rev Edwin Arrison
VYLTP Director
[email protected]

17/10/2026

Volmoed Youth Weekly Update: 12 - 17 October 2026

Dear friends:

One of my favourite quotes from a saint (Julian of Norwich) is: “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.” Those of us who try to live as consciously as possible, need to constantly remind ourselves of these reassuring words of Julian: “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.” We see what is happening, and shine a light: “Evil will never have the last word.” (Tutu) And therefore “All shall be well….”

With these words in mind, let me therefore dive straight in.

This week, we started two new initiatives: (a) as we continue to build a safe space, as well as a “brave space” for the young people entrusted to our care, I composed a relatively compact daily pledge to be said by the young people every time we gather.

Whenever we meet, we read it in all 3 languages of the Western Cape: English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa. Below, for your interest, is the English version:

VYLTP DAILY PLEDGE

“Today, I pledge to listen, to learn and to lead by serving others.

I will respect the dignity of every person, practise ubuntu, and stand for justice, peace and reconciliation.

I will act with honesty, integrity, discipline and responsibility.

I will do nothing, in person or online, that brings shame or disrepute to myself, my fellow participants, VYLTP or Volmoed. I will strive to make my words and actions a source of pride and hope.

I will use my gifts to make a positive difference in my community.

I am a leader. I am an ambassador of VYLTP. My actions matter. Together, we build a better world.”

We hope that this will strengthen our little beloved community. Similar to our 5 themes, it will also serve as another reference point (our still-point) for our life together.

(B) The second thing we did was to welcome Sal Carter to the RDP, who will be with us for the next few Fridays to listen to the stories of the young people, to help us with admin and to ensure that we have all the important details of the young people on file. For many reasons, please keep Sally in your prayers over the next few weeks.

In other news:

1. It is always a privilege to welcome our good friend, Erik de Jongh, from the Netherlands. For years now, he has been spending significant time with and resources on the young people. He has some interesting ideas for early next year, but I will share that with you once it is concrete. Thank you for your great presence, Erik! We look forward to welcoming Rob in January 2027.

2. Before that however, we will welcome two Taize brothers on 12 and 13 November here at Volmoed and in Hermanus. They will be in Southern Africa for about 3 weeks. For those who do not know, it was at Taizé in France where I first learnt about “Contemplation and action” or “Silence and Solidarity”.

3. And even before we welcome them, we will gather at Wortelgat for the second SACC Wcape/VYLTP weekend (6-8 November). David Daniels and his colleagues have done a great job to convene us and we look forward to the first weekend in November.

4. Of course our local elections are on 4 November and the USA mid-terms are on 3 November. Anything can happen before or after. In South Africa, we need to pray against the division and violence that arises during these periods, and for great wisdom and patience afterwards as we figure out the best practices for “coalition politics”. Ultimately, the question is: what serves the people best?

5. We are still overjoyed at Judge Navi Pillay being awarded the Nobel Peace prize. I was reminded yesterday that the symbolism behind this award to her is especially powerful at this time. Pillay represents the voice that shouts out for all of us to respect international law. Last night, Mike Spath led Bob Herbst and I in a conversation about what it might mean, especially on what it means for the prevention of genocide. We will let you have the youtube link for this soon.

6. To get back to the present: This afternoon at 3pm, we will be at the United Church to support not only a wonderful ecumenical initiative of music and song, but also to support the Zwelihle youth choir. If you are in Hermanus, please join us. R100 per ticket. Many thanks and many blessings on all of you. All shall be well…..

Rev Edwin Arrison
Director: VYLTP
Email: [email protected]

17/10/2026

Volmoed Youth Weekly Update: 4 - 9 October 2026

Dear Friends,

South Africa is, as many of you know, a nation of extremes and paradoxes. While a South African judge (Navi Pillay) was awarded the Nobel Peace prize yesterday, a small group protesting immigration tried to break into our highest court, the Constitutional court. This is both the highest and lowest of South Africa. And it happens at the same time….all the time.

This is not likely to change anytime soon. Local and global criminals will act with impunity if they are allowed to get away with it. We need to support each other and pray for South Africa as we approach the elections on November 4. Buckle up, and hold on tight. It is not going to be easy….

The USA visitors who have been travelling with us throughout South Africa these last two weeks, saw this reality daily. Their own country, more complex than ours, went one step further yesterday, probably because poor Donald did not win the Nobel Peace prize: they sanctioned the whole of the ICC! The current USA administrations’ attack on international law puts South Africa in their cross-hairs. We look forward to Navi Pillay’s speech on 10 December where she will probably re-affirm the sanctity of international law.

As a nation, we remain on the right side of history: South Africa will continue to defend and uphold international law, even if we get sanctioned. For this principled stand, South Africans have to buckle up and hold tight. The current USA administration will do everything to divide us.

Is there a way to get all South Africans on the same Navi Pillay page? If so, what an incredible nation we would be! But Kallie Kriel and Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma refuses to even begin to understand what Navi Pillay stands for. That is the stark challenge we (VYLTP) face right there: we must ensure that we train the young people in Navi Pillay’s morality and ethics lest they fall into these other base instincts that exist. We can say with confidence that we are doing just that.

We are really very proud of our current cohort of young people: the feedback we received from our USA visitors were incredible. We also received some wonderful feedback from our Avreq researchers and from a group who came to do some democracy training with them. While they often turn in on themselves, I reminded them on Friday how good they are. If we don’t do and say this, who will? God made them not only good, but very good (tov). If you have not seen a letter of encouragement I wrote to young people a while ago, please read it at https://volmoedyouth.org.za/2025/05/18/on-worthiness-rev-edwin-arrisons-message-to-young-people-in-english-isixhosa-and-afrikaans/

Big thanks to our USA visitors who have already begun to support us. Michael Spath has pledged to raise at least $3k for a new shipping container at RDP. Thank you dear friend and brother, Michael Spath! You are an amazing support for us. While Donald represents the worst of the USA, Michael represents the best.

We are not optimistic but we are hopeful. We will not only survive but thrive. Already South Africa plans to host the Olympics in 2036, the first time it will happen on the continent. Some of us are dreaming of re-enacting the 1980 Pilgrimage of Hope to Taize, Jerusalem etc in 2030. There are plans for a possible VYLTP trip to Oregon in 2028. Several groups and individuals will visit here in 2027. I know this because they are talking to me. There is therefore much to hope for and to live for.

We therefore shout: Ubuntu! In good Cape Town Afrikaans we say: “ons gaan boentoe”! (We are going up). Indeed…. Ubuntu! Many blessings of ubuntu on all of you.

Rev. Edwin Arrison
VYLTP Director
Email: [email protected]

My message to the young people Each one of you has a story. All of your stories are of infinite worth: worthy to be listened to, and worthy of being redeemed. Why? Because each one of you has been …

17/10/2026

*Volmoed Youth Weekly Update: 28 September - 3 October 2026*

Dear Friends,

Where do I begin? With Gratitude. There is no better starting point, especially daily. Thank you to those who journey with us in our ministry. Some of you give monthly amounts, some support us with once-off amounts, some give us deeply prayerful support . But each one of you are very very special to us. Desmond Tutu, the saint whom we focus on at Volmoed this week, would have said: “Buti: you are right. Always have gratitude, and always express it”. I wrote a short bio of Arch Tutu this week, and it will soon appear on the Volmoed website: https://www.volmoed.co.za/pages/volmoeds-40th-birthday/

We are currently hosting a wonderful USA group at the moment, under the leadership of our dear friend Michael Spath. They have many deep questions about South Africa. I admire them because they did not simply come as tourists but really as pilgrims. Yesterday they walked with the young people through Zwelihle township. Residents were surprised to see this group of “umlungu” being really present with them amongst the shacks, and showing great respect. The children were especially great, and also very surprised!

We visited Lukhanyo primary school where we planted a tree. One delegate (a member of Rotary) wants to go back to the USA and hope to give the school the 18 projectors they still need! Volmoed Youth is truly acting as the leaven in the lump in Zwelihle and Mount Pleasant. People in Mt Pleasant were really surprised when they saw us building the little shack. They know that many talk; but only some act. May this ministry of loving action, undergirded by deep spirituality, continue for many years!

FinGlobal collected their 23 drums this week. Please pray for their staff members there as they make use of these drums. Jayrodene did a great job at painting them in such a short time. Dankie Me Geduld! You remain part of us. The same goes for someone like Ayabonga, who returned this week, as well as Amanda, who accompanied the pilgrims and shared her thoughts with them. The USA visitors were very impressed by all the young leaders! The highly skilled Arone also remains a stalwart. He got the children to dance on Friday morning.

Our drummers have been invited to open the Blue flag beach on Thursday this week, and this will be followed by a workshop on democracy and citizenship. Our Avreq researchers will also visit on Tuesday.

The last 3 months of this calendar year is going to be intense! Please hold in your prayers both the leadership team (Rene, Seth, Wilma, Thobeka, David, Sam, Mona, Siya and myself) as well as the young people as we engage the five themes of Volmoed: creation and creativity; peace and justice; healing and wholeness; beloved community; and reconciliation.

Let me end with a wonderful ecumenical initiative in Hermanus, as these local churches pursue the kind of unity that we need in South Africa: the United Church, under the leadership of the incredible Rev Bevan Sylvester, will be hosting an afternoon of quality music in aid of St Peter’s church organ at United Church on 17 October. Tickets are R100 per person and can be bought from the St Peter’s church office. We encourage those who can, to attend! Besides our presence there, the Zwelihle youth choir will also be part of the line-up. Let us continue to build and strengthen these amazing bridges. We thank you in advance. Selah!

Rev. Edwin Arrison
VYLTP Director
Email: [email protected]

The program will kick off in November 2025, with a time of discernment about what it means to be a sustainable intentional community of faith in our current context. We are in the process of setting up a series of other events to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Volmoed and the 10th an...

26/09/2026

Volmoed Youth Weekly Update: 21 - 26 September 2026

Dear Friends,

I love starting these updates with good news: Last week, a Hermanus resident, a woman of deep faith, approached me and said: “I have R50k that I want to spend on the townships. How would you advise me?”.
I gave her several options and she decided to do two things: firstly, she went with me to Lukhanyo primary school and decided to buy two projectors for two classrooms, something they desperately need; and the rest of the money will be spent on the food-garden at the RDP. This kind of generosity and resources exist in Hermanus and does a world of good to build bridges between South Africans, and to empower children and young people. Long may this generosity and bridge-building continue to happen! Unfortunately, the “white genocide crowd” are doing the exact opposite, and I am happy that there is significant pushback to their narrative from within the Afrikaner community in South Africa.

The second piece of good news is that our friend and brother, Dr Michael Battle, is on the mend. I had conversations with him this week, and his healing has been remarkable since the last time I spoke to him. Much more healing needs to happen, so please continue to hold him in prayer.

Then: last weekend, we had a really wonderful and energizing gathering at St Peter’s, Hermanus, of almost 40 young people from across the Western Cape.

At the end of the weekend, the young people pledged what is in the slide above.

They worked on 5 day plans, 5 week plans, 5 month plans and 5 year plans and presented these. We wish them strength as they implement. SACC WCape Youth and Volmoed Youth will gather them again in mid-November to assess what they have been able to achieve and empower them further. Our 10th anniversary work of empowering and organising the young people in the faith-space continues!

Those who catered for us and who hosted the young people at St Peter’s were absolutely magnificent! The quality of the food was great! Thank you, St Peter’s team. May God continue to bless you all. The 3 St Peter’s parish young people (Keegan, Jasmine and Omolemo) were very very impressive in all they said and did. And hopefully more young people from the parish and the archdeaconry will join them. For now, they are the pioneers!

One can only admire all these young people. They are willing to be or become active citizens, despite all the challenges that life in present-day South Africa throws at them. In some ways life is harder now than what life was like in the 70s and 80s. Then we had a “cause” to live (and die) for and it energized us. Today, they have social media - that creates impossible expectations - and not much else.

Of course, we - those who were and organized youth in the 70s and 80s - really expected life to be better for the next generations, and yet it is not. Many of the young people are still victims of bad education outcomes and a toxic social setting, despite the fact that we have what has been described as the best constitution in the world. Unfortunately, when those other foundations (good education, safety and security, food security) are not properly laid, the rest becomes wobbly. Constitutionalism becomes a pipe-dream. How can we continue to journey with our young people under these circumstances? How can we support them? These questions keep me and the rest of the Volmoed Youth leadership awake at night.

To give just one example: Three taxi drivers were killed in Zwelihle this week. This is the trauma that our young people are having to contend with. We (the adults) have a huge responsibility to say: “This is not normal. We will do all we can to ensure that you experience some normality”.

I know that some of the young people do not want me to say or write this, but I write it to demonstrate several things. Here goes: When God calls me home one day (whenever that may be), please write the following words on my grave-stone or wherever: “Organise the young people of faith! Organise the young people of faith!”. Without good organisation of this particular group, very little that is good and hopeful can happen in the church. The future of the church and society on the whole continent literally depends on this. These organised young people can push back against the doom and gloom, against hopelessness and despair and the systems that produce and re-produce these. Let’s continue to work hard to create the safe spaces in our faith-communities that will allow them to organise themselves well.

To all those who support this work, a big thank you! We appreciate your tremendous support for this work with young people. May God bless you.

Edwin Arrison
VYLTP Director
Email: [email protected]

19/09/2026

19/09/2026

Volmoed Youth Weekly Update: 14 - 19 September 2026

Dear Friends,

Thank you again for reading this weekly update/reflection.

Those of us working closely and daily with the most marginalised part of our population are always searching for signs of hope, no matter how small. When we see even a glimpse, we really hold onto it, we treasure it. Of course, we distinguish between optimism and hope. We know that optimism is here today (when we win at rugby, for example) and gone tomorrow (when Trump decides to again target South Africa and South Africans). The hope we have, and hold onto, is fortunately beyond all of this. Hope endures for ever, hope gives life and light and energy.

I can just imagine a Desmond Tutu in deep despair on some days, and still coming out on a Sunday to preach a most hopeful sermon. I actually know that this happened for real. Our hope is deeply rooted in the One who overcame death, and this is who continues to sustain us. Nothing and no-one can take this away from us. Those who cause despair - even those responsible for the killing of South African women this week in Ekhurhuleni - can try to break our spirit (and they do try ALL the time), but they will always hit a brick-wall of hope. We will continue to engage in actions of hope against injustice, inequality, femicide and genocide. Unfortunately for them, that is who we are. That is our faith. We can do and be no other.

1. This week, in one such glimpse of hope, Rotary Hermanus hosted someone called GG Alcock, the author of “kasinomics” (economics in the township) at the United Church in Hermanus. It is important to note that a church building was used to gather people to display hope. This is not a small thing. Rotary was very intentional to ensure that people from across the different communities in the Overstrand attend. Well done to Rotary and the United Church!

15 of the Volmoed young people attended because others sponsored their attendance. Alcock grew up in a Zulu village and speaks isiZulu and even some SeTswana fluently. Like the musician Johnny Clegg, whose son, Jesse, led our national anthem in Baltimore, GG is a “Zulu blanc”. In his person, he is a bridge. And he is able to build bridges. He and others like him (eg Allan Knott-Craig) have all the datapoints to build up some really strong arguments. The great mission in South Africa is (has to be!) to build bridges between the different economies and economic approaches at play here as we live in completely different worlds. We try to do this at Volmoed all the time. Since we started the youth programme, it has become the most natural thing for us to bring these worlds together, and we must hold onto this gift. It is unfortunately something we can lose very easily if we do not deliberately nurture this gift.

In terms of content, Alcock spoke about SCALING UP what is already happening in our townships. This is the opposite of what someone such as Clem Sunter would have said. Clem spoke about starting a million new businesses, but Alcock says: “These businesses exist: acknowledge it and help grow it. If today they employ 3 people, tomorrow they will employ 6”. This would even apply to our little drum-making experiment (that’s all it is at the moment) as well. If orders increase, production will increase. The future of this is still being discerned, but thanks be to God for this tremendous gift! 3 options are possible for us (as far as I can see): we keep it at its current level, or it grows, or it gets closed down. The jury is still out. Watch this space.

2. So: As you receive this update, we (Volmoed Youth and SACC Western Cape Youth) have gathered 40 young people from across the Western Cape from different denominations at St Peter’s church in Hermanus to continue to build beloved community. We are literally building the ecumenical movement from the bottom up. If we do not do this, if we do not love, nurture and organise our young people, others such as the gangs will do it, even if their motives are the opposite of ours. Actually, they are hard at work doing just that. We are just playing catch-up. I am personally very very encouraged by the young people who are gathered here.

This hard yet joyful work must continue to counter the violence of this post post-apartheid society, one in which young people are seen as simply expendable.

We have a choice: either we go GG Alcock’s route (which we as VYLTP generally follow) or we go the route of the gangster criminal state. The next 5 years is going to be absolutely critical as it will determine what South Africa’s longer-term future will look like.

To strengthen what we do, groups such as VYLTP will have to grow. We definitely need more staff. The challenges our young people face are much bigger than the current team. Our Fellow, Natalie, is with us in Hermanus and ready to help us do that. She had a great meeting with the team of betterfundraising.com and we are excited about the way forward.

Am I still hopeful? Absolutely. I am not optimistic, but I am hopeful. Thank you for all those who are journeying with us. We appreciate you. Much love

Rev. Edwin Arrison
VYLTP Director
Email: [email protected]