Southern Africa
On 4 March 1883 Major and Mrs Francis Simmonds with Lieutenant Alice Teager ‘opened fire’ in Cape Town. Other officers were sent to the island of St Helena in 1886 to consolidate work commenced (in 1884) by Salvationist ‘Bluejackets’. Social services began in 1886. The Army’s first organised ministry among the African people was established in 1888 in Natal and, in 1891, in Zululand. Evangelistic effort in Mozambique, pioneered in 1916 by African converts, was officially recognised in 1923. Work in Swaziland (now named eSwatini) was commenced in 1960. Having previously been in Namibia from 1932 to 1939, the Army re-established a presence in the country in January 2008 and was given official recognition on 11 March 2008.
With many countries entering lockdown in March 2020 due to COVID-19, Colonel Daniel Kasuso (TC) and the territorial leadership put together a plan of operation.
In South Africa, the Army partnered with the Department of Social Development in Pretoria to feed the homeless. A disaster team from Central Division responded and offered three meals a day to approximately 1,000 people in seven camps. Other services like counselling and the distribution of clothing and hygiene items were also provided. Education on preventing the spread of the coronavirus was shared at each meal, as was prayer and God's Word.
Many people turned to the health clinic in Mbabane, Eswatini, for help. Funding and assistance from the Ministry of Health in Eswatini, the Mbuluzi and Mbabane Rotary Club and THQ, as well as other organisations, enabled the clinic to purchase protective equipment and provisions to serve and help people.
In Windhoek, Namibia, 'Ironman' triathlete Divan du Plooy got involved in The Salvation Army's efforts to help vulnerable people during lockdown. The Army and the Namibia Red Cross were part of an initiative to collect non-perishable food for redistribution to people in need.
With comments like 'Salvation Army is keeping us alive', officers and soldiers around the territory started putting food parcels together, partnering with other non-government organisations and small corporates to help people in their communities.
In the Northern Division of Natal, the Mountain View Clinic disseminated information about COVID-19 and made its two 4x4 vehicles available to deliver and collect essential supplies.
The WASH (Water, Sanitation, And Health) project team facilitated the provision of a water supply to enable handwashing at rural clinics.
The Booth Hospital in Cape Town set up prayer stations to boost the morale of staff and patients. Some corps started doing prayer walks on their neighbourhoods which resulted in much needed and timely community conservations.
Colonels Daniel and Tracey Kasuso (TPWM) visited these outreach initiatives, helped with distributions of food and gave much needed moral and practical support to officers. soldiers and volunteers. With the continued support of territorial leadership, the people of Southern Africa continued to meet human needs and live out the motto, 'Heart to God, Hand to Man'.
Territorial Leaders
Colonel Daniel Kasuso - Territorial Commander (1 August 2019)
Colonel Tracey Kasuso - Command President for Women's Ministries
Lieut-Colonel Jabulani Khoza - General Secretary (1 July 2020)
Lieut-Colonel Fikile Khoza - Command Secretary for Women's Ministries
Territorial Headquarters
119-121 Rissik Street
Wanderers’ View
Johannesburg 2001
South Africa
Postal address
PO Box 1018
Johannesburg 2000
South Africa
Statistics
Officers - 247 (active - 153 retired - 94) Auxillary Captains - 2
Envoys - 4 Cadets - 14 Employees - 553
Corps - 93 Outposts - 123
Senior Soldiers - 18,671 Adherents - 1,445 Junior Soldiers - 3,800
tel: +(27) 117 186 700
fax: +(27) 117 186 790
email: saf_leadership@saf.salvationarmy.org
Countries included in the territory: Lesotho, Namibia, Island of St Helena, South Africa, eSwatini
Languages in which the gospel is preached: Afrikaans, English, Portuguese, SeSotho, Shangaan, SiPedi, Tsonga, Tswana, Tshivenda, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu