An Update from Paul Scholten
- Robin Canfield
- 5 hours ago
- 4 min read
Published December 5, 2025
My feet just touched American soil after a couple of weeks in South Africa… and I couldn’t wait to update you. Every year, Zeke and I spend four focused days with our Courage Youth (CY) team and Setshabelo Family and Child Services (SFCS) team. We review the year, plan for the next, and pray boldly.
And now… something big is ahead. God has placed it on our hearts to double our impact in the next three years. Yes, it requires more funding, but with your partnership, it will bring unimaginable transformation across South Africa.
Below, you’ll find updates and plans that I believe will excite you for what’s ahead!
Best meetings ever! We have incredible staff retention, so our CY Team of 22 trained individuals know the drill. Our collective focus was unparalleled: review 2025 outcomes and strategize for the year ahead.
A few highlights:
Discipleship has become increasingly central in day-to-day ministry to CY students. About half of the 1,000+ Courage Youth Members were in Discovery Group Discipleship sessions, with many making decisions for Christ over the course of the year.
A Christlike culture of collaboration among the staff was more evident than ever before — a reflection of Chris’s leadership, character, and culture-building since she assumed the Managing Director role in 2023.
The team eagerly embraced the challenge of expansion and plans for two new schools in 2026 are already in motion.
Again, all prayers were answered. Thank you for praying with us. Here are a few highlights:
Given the vast social services that SFCS provides to over 35 communities in Free State, we reviewed an extensive set of reports. Each program team shared passionate updates on their 2025 progress and their plans for 2026 — including Adoption, Family Preservation, CYCC, Domestic/Childhood Violence Prevention, Victim Empowerment, Safe House, Social Behavior Change, and Risiha.
Significant progress is being made in training, supporting, and unifying the 350 Child & Youth Care Workers who joined SFCS when the South African government asked us in 2023 to take over the Risiha (Resilience) Program. We now deliver SFCS services with a Christian ethos to the entirety of Free State Province.
Most exciting and urgently needed service update: SFCS is preparing to launch a Referral Hub in Memel, one of the most underserved rural towns in the Free State Province. Local families are completely isolated, emergencies go unnoticed, and vulnerable children have nowhere to turn. This hub will link individuals to the supports they need most:
SFCS’s family-strengthening and early intervention services
Government child protection services
This SFCS Referral Hub will be a lifeline for children and families who need safety, advocacy, and consistent care.
The fun part…
On Sunday we had the opportunity to worship with the Uniting Reformed Church congregation right next to the CYCC. Pastor Staat is a long-time friend and is on SFCS’ Board of Directors. He asked Zeke to preach the morning service. The service is in the local language, Sesotho, so Boniswa, our Social Work Manager, interpreted for him. The only musical instruments are a bell, a whistle, and hand pads with exuberant singing and dancing! We took all the kids from CYCC along to the service. The kids all got knitted hats that we took along from the CMC knitters.
After the service the CYCC staff hosted a Christmas party for the kids. The kids also did their own Christmas pageant with Baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the Wisemen.
We were also excited to visit the most recent adoption family.
This is an adoring single dad with his 3-month-old adopted son.
He is a teacher in the local college.
His passion and love for this little boy are amazing. He couldn’t stop talking about the life he would help create for his son!
He has his mother and extended family to help him. And now they are looking for a bigger house to accommodate their growing family!
There continues to be a large need for adoptive families in black communities. As the only licensed Black-run adoption agency in South Africa, SFCS aims to double the number of children placed in loving homes — from 50 to 100 per year.
An Opportunity for You
Our SFCS Christian-focused child and family welfare programs are highly effective. They have received national recognition and are frequently asked to partner on government-sponsored initiatives — the Risiha Program is one strong example.
But the challenges in South Africa remain overwhelming. 61% of children live in food-insecure homes. 33% of women experience gender-based violence. And in many rural communities, government services are simply unavailable.
There is a better way. encompassKids, through SFCS, is working to partner with local churches in remote areas, using their facilities and trusted people to provide essential social work services. By building on the existing Risiha Program structure, we can multiply the reach and effectiveness of care.
SFCS is preparing to pilot this model in the rural town of Memel, with plans to establish additional Referral Hubs in similar towns. Our hope is to double the number of children placed in loving homes this coming year.
At the same time, Courage Youth continues to expand to meet the rising demand from young people and families — with a vision to double its reach over the next three years.
We wanted to share this early update with you, let you know about the need, and warmly invite you to make an early year-end donation if you feel led. And please keep an eye out for our full letter arriving next week with more details.
Comments