When I was only ten years old my mother suddenly died.
It felt as if the bottom of my life had fallen out.

The spiritual support of the church helped my family work through our grief by assisting us to experience God’s love and comfort in the midst
of sadness.

I still remember how we as children woke up in our beds in the wee hours of the morning hearing my father singing Christian songs – his voice sometimes breaking up in sobs – as he was preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
I remember he often sang a song from Psalm 141…

When my father passed away a few years later, the truths that he taught me at church carried me through; namely that my only comfort in life and death is that I do not belong to myself, but to my precious Saviour, Jesus Christ, who bought me with his precious blood to belong to him forever.

Through the support of the church, I could complete high school and tertiary education and find my own place of service and calling in God’s world.

This experience convinced me that the local church, where God’s people weep with those who weep, comfort, support and encourage one another, is best positioned to support orphans and families in crisis and make a difference in communities.

The Bible says that when Christ returns He is going to wipe every tear from our eyes.
Churches can start to do that now already.

At Mukhanyo we believe that every Christian church in every city, town and village should provide a foretaste of God’s great future through its ministries of teaching, preaching and visible acts of mercy. As a Christian organisation MCDC wants to assist churches to do in a holistic way what Jesus said: let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

God is now already at work in the world through his people revealing and manifesting the coming glory of his new creation through facilitating:

Compassionate care in the midst of suffering
Quality education
Healing
Advocacy for justice to all
Reconciliation with Him and others
Restoration of beauty and God-given dignity
Acquirement of Christian stewardship skills
Proclamation through word and deed, telling and showing the Gospel

The first CEO of Mukhanyo Community Development Centre, Mrs. Melanie Prinsloo, was the right person
at the right time to be a co-founder and driver of MCDC because of her passion for orphans and suffering people. Her departure – because of health challenges and her desire to devote more time to orphans that she personally adopted – is an affirmation of her sense of calling.

We will miss her, but will do our best to honour her legacy to continue the wonderful work we could start together, while we are praying and looking for a new CEO to take over from me acting as interim CEO on request of the Board of Directors.

Flip Buys (Chairman of the Board of Directors and interim CEO).