At the moment, a huge amount of local community mobilisation is happening across the country. In Cape Town, this is largely in the form of Community Action Networks (CAN!s). One of the best ways for churches and church members to be good neighbours within their communities and beyond is to set up or get involved in one of these local networks. This way, you can get (and contribute to) a better understanding of the needs present within your community and add your strength, skill and resources to the initiatives that are emerging to address them.
If you are in Cape Town, consider joining the Community Action Network in your area, or if there is not one yet, consider setting one up.
If you are elsewhere in the country, in the next few days we will be sending out a guideline detailing how to set up Local Ecumenical Action Networks (LEANs) where you are based. In the meantime, feel free to explore how CAN!s are running and start setting up your own local networks.
As explained on the Cape Town Together Facebook group, the purpose of the CAN!s is ‘to help communities self-organise to take action at the neighbourhood level to educate and support each other, and then share ideas and resources with other CAN!s across the city’. Join the Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/CapeTownTogether/ to stay updated with how this is unfolding.
To sign up for (or start) a CAN in your area, follow this link: https://form.jotform.com/200813205437042?fbclid=IwAR0e5SOXedXiFapuTy6sKuUhR3vZ61MXsWziUM2mCKu6orQLpCRZCTPMr2Q.
For a list of the current CANs, along with links to join their Whatsapp groups and get involved, follow this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Hhw9SqPcznLiuI5Xqmpr7rch9hZ3OYYmbzBbWJ35eLs/edit?fbclid=IwAR3QmIoijbwERJWhjnBKKPedasG3OcjyTFwu9UEkrI_2I73r9msJF2eqIYI#gid=0.
There may also be other structures in existence in your area. Find out what initiatives are already happening, and add your strength, resources and networks to them, so that we can assist with collaborative responses. Often it is not necessary to start something new, and the most effective way we can respond is in collaboration with something already in existence.