Partnering with us

Neighbours is a Non-profit organisation that was started in 2012 when the Branken family moved into Hillbrow to stand in solidarity as neighbours to those most marginalised in South Africa. The phrase they try to live out is “we are becoming good friends to our neighbours and then good neighbours to our friends”.
 
1.  We want to be a personal prophetic witness to the church and will do this by
  1. Relocation – we are moving our work from Hillbrow to the Melrose/ Bramley/ Alexandra area so that we can be a bridge and an “in-between” space with divergent and separated communities. We still believe that it is key to build equal loving relationships across class, race, national and other barriers. Loving our neighbour starts with knowing our neighbour.
  2. Demonstration though our family :
  • Personal resilience to climate change -  through working on personal and community food security and off the grid solutions
  • Personal protest and activism - as a regular rhythm of life as we fight to build movements and enhance citizen power towards a new world
  • Personal solidarity – “becoming good friends to our neighbours and good neighbours to our friends”. We will continue to stand with our friends.
  • Living simply and sharing our lives and resources – we want to move from charity to community and justice at various levels
  • Social enterprises - Implementing alternative imaginations in our personal economies by and with our neighbours Music School, Art Business and other income generation)
2.  We want to help the church to “love mercy, walk humbly and act justly” (Micah 6:8).
  1. In the local church – we believe that “each one should use whatever gift to serve others faithfully administering the grace of God in it’s various forms” (1 Peter 4:10). In our local church we will serve in the following areas:
  • Ngecala lakho (By your side) – we will lead the Melrose Church NGO in its work with refugees and non nationals, the LGBTQI community, displaced persons, and other marginalised communities
  • Children’s ministry pastors – we will support  children and their families in the community. We want to help enlarge the children’s ministry to a more outward focus on vulnerable children in the community.
  • General service - We will serve in other areas where we have skills and time e.g. worship team, social media etc)
3.  In the wider church
  • Supporting churches and ministries in Johannesburg, South Africa and beyond – we will be involved in Mentoring/ Coaching/ Speaking and through writing and social media to helping leaders and congregations journey towards an integral gospel proclamation and living justly.
  • We will focus on the following messages for 2020: Living wage, Climate change, Citizen power and movement building, Radical inclusion, LGBTQI justice, Racial and gender justice, and Integral gospel proclamation
 We would love to co-conspire with you and demonstrate and a new, just, kinder world is indeed possible because it is being lived out around us.
You can also partner with our many new and exciting ventures with the Hillbrow community in 2019. Send us an email (nigel@neighbours.org.za) if you would like to volunteer or have items that may assist us. Let us know if you would like to be added to our mailing list to keep up to date with our work.

Helping with practical items

/ displHere is a list of practical items we are in need of...

Work with the homeless/ displaced/ families in need
  • Blankets - large blankets are always more useful than small ones
  • First aid kit supplies (particularly for dressing wounds)
  • Soup kitchen consumables (polystyrene cups, plastics spoons)
  • Toiletry packs for men and women
  • Clothing items (Warm jackets, socks and shoes are always helpful)
  • Non perishable food items
Soccer Club (2 boys team and a girls team)
  • It would be great to get a company to sponsor the team with kits
  • On an ongoing basis, the team needs
    • soccer balls
    • Transport to games (it would be great to have a group of friends volunteer once a month on a saturday morning to help out with this)
    • ePap/ other easy to make nutricous food - monthly supply - we would love to give out ePap daily at our learning centre to the children

Please contact Trish at trish@transforming.org.za or on whatsapp at 062 546 9913 or click on the button below if you are able to help with any of the above

Contribute

Neighbours is a voluntary association under the Non-profit Organisations act (71 of 1997). Our funds are administered through a service level agreement with the James 1:27 Trust. The Trust provides
  • Payment governance and processing;
  • Donations receipting and issuing of tax certificates in terms of Section 18A of the Income Tax Act of 1962;
  • The provision and auditing of a trust account on behalf of Neighbours
This ensures that all monies received and spent follow sound financial management practices. Your full contribution goes towards Neighbours and the work that they do.
​You can make a contribution through the James 1:27 Trust payment gateway

or make a deposit into our account:
​
Neighbours Bank Account Details:                                                                          
Account Name: James 1:27 Trust
Reference for Donation: Your Email
ABSA Bank
Brooklyn
Branch code: 632005
Account number: 9310110831
SWIFT address: ABSAZAJJ


You may want to make a contribution to Nigel and Trish Branken directly and can do so by making a deposit into their personal account. Here are the details:

Nigel and Trish Branken Account Details
​
Account Name: NK Branken
Bank: Capitec
Branch Code: 470010
Account Number: 1265801868
Account Type: Savings Account

Thank you for all your support,
Nigel and Trish Branken.