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Church group gets farm to help Zimbabwean refugees
ZimOnline
July 11, 2006

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/EKOI-6RL3T2?OpenDocument

HAMASKRAAL - A South African non-governmental organisation (NGO), Cross-Over Projects, has donated a 10-hectare farm to the Johannesburg-based Zimbabwe Pastors Forum (ZPF) to use to start income generating projects to support thousands of Zimbabwean refugees living in South Africa.

The farm in Hamaskraal, about 30 kilometres north of Pretoria, was last Sunday handed over to the ZPF that is among several groups looking after the interests of Zimbabwean exiles living in South Africa.

Speaking during the hand-over ceremony, Cross-Over representative, Elizabeth Gordon, said the church should use the farm to ease the suffering of thousands of the refuges, many of whom have no shelter or means of livelihood.

Gordon said: "This farm is big enough to cater for several hundreds of the Zimbabwean and other refugee communities if fully utilised.

"Viable projects such as piggery, poultry, animal husbandry and crop farming would help create dozens of jobs for the disadvantaged people."

There are hundreds of thousands of Zimbabwean refugees who are living in South Africa after fleeing hunger and political repression at home.

But the refugees have often complained of ill-treatment at the hands of South African government officials whom they accuse of xenophobia.

South African churches, which have been highly critical of President Robert Mugabe's government, have often chipped in to assist Zimbabwean refugees with for example, hundreds of people being housed at the Methodist Church in central Johannesburg.

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