South Africa

South Africa (SA) is a country that knows how to face obstacles and overcome them.  The biggest obstacle of apartheid, legalized racism, was overcome only recently in 1994 when Nelson Mandela became president.  The movie Invictus, which stars Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman, actually shows a great portrayal of the transition for the country during this time.  Big sporting events such as the Rugby World Cup (1995), Cricket World Cup (2003), and the Soccer World Cup (2010) helped the momentum of becoming a united nation that was divided for so long.

South Africa is a very diverse nation of over 49 million people with eleven national languages.  Ethnic groups consist of about 79.5% black, 9% white, 9% colored, and 2.5% Asian.  SA is known for its beautiful tourism spots, steady economic growth, and sports but there is also a less beautiful side that is hurting the country.  Issues such as crime, sexual violence, “brain drain”, and Xenophobia are just some of the social problems.  Unity is becoming stronger, but division is still a huge problem, especially considering that they are still very young in the process which only started 1994. 

Poverty is prevalent throughout the country.  The gap between rich and poor is vast.  In one part of town, you will see lovely homes equivalent to America’s middle class, but just down the street you will see thousands of shacks.  HIV Aids is a factor influencing about 12% of the population.  Fatherlessness in families is unfortunately very common.  Besides the physical absence of fathers, the relational and leadership absence of fathers are breaking the unity of families.  Around 80 % of South Africans claim that they are Christian, but similar to other “Christian” nations, it is more of an image than truly following God.