As the pastor of Durbanville Community Church in a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, ITMI’s Mark Parris likely receives a lot of text messages.

But this one was urgent.

The message read, “I’ve just been robbed!” It was from Monwabisi, who runs a school that operates on a property the church owns in Khayelitsha, a large informal settlement outside Durbanville.

Mark called him immediately. Monwabisi was distraught, still trying to catch his breath. Men with guns had come in and forced everyone to lie down on the ground while they stole everyone’s phones and laptops.

Mark writes, “It happened so quickly. We are grateful that no one was injured in the incident. …it was sobering to be reminded that we live in a violent city.”

Not long ago, a young woman approached Dr. Bradley Kuhn, a member of Mark’s church, and a leader in the outreaches in the informal settlement of Stone Hill alongside ITMI’s Charl van Wyk.

The young woman shared her story with Dr. Bradley. She and her boyfriend had been together for 11 years. They had two children together. Their rusty, dirt-floored shack in Stone Hill had become unlivable. The roof no longer provided any shelter from rain or other elements.

The couple had to move in with their in-laws. Then this young father was murdered near Stone Hill. There had been a big investigation and court case. Meanwhile, the young woman’s in-laws told her she had to move out.

To encourage her to leave, her boyfriend’s father began sleeping in her bed, so she and the kids had to move to the floor. But they couldn’t go home.

On February 11, Bradley addressed his church, asking for volunteers and donations to help build a new shack for this single mom and her two children. The project was scheduled to begin in 3 weeks time, so this impoverished family should be getting a new shack about the time you are reading this!