History

The vision of Genesis was born out of the Norwegian Settlers Church in 2002. The mission being to take “the church” out of the four walls of the building into a hurting local community, where HIV/Aids infected and affect people living in rural suburbs surrounding the church became our starting point.

Local hospitals were constantly experiencing a shortage of beds and the need for a step-down/hospice facility to accommodate these patients was obvious. Through the generosity of individuals, the contribution of land from the church and registered board of trustees, the first twenty-bed ward of the Genesis Care Centre was established in March 2005. A second twenty-bed ward and office block was opened in May 2007, along with a voluntary counselling and testing service.

Tragically, at the same time, a ripple effect of the pandemic was seen in the community where parentless families, unemployment, poverty and crime were the order of the day. Work then began to create a series of community/youth projects which have steadily grown from strength to strength on-site at Norwegian Settlers Church, Murchison,  Mahlabathini, Shelly Beach and in other communities.

At present, a 2500 square metre facility is being built on the same property that houses the Genesis Care Centre. This building is the result of a generous gift from a partner church (Lake Pointe Church) in the USA. It will house a substantial gym, recreation facility, music centre, reading room, SEEDS ministry and skills development program along with offices and administration.

Many volunteers have participated in the development of the Genesis portfolio ranging from our board of trustees and a superb building committee, right through to personally caring for care-giving staff. These are the heroes of the Genesis Programme and for them we are specifically grateful.

 

Genesis Trustees

Trevor Skorpen – Chairman
Trevor Downham – Senior Pastor NSC/Trustee
Hans Allison
Tim Barratt
Dr George Booyens
Joseph Ndovela
Niel Retief
Wayne Boucher
Lee Kloppers