Of course, the first question that comes to mind is whether or not such a venture will be a viable and sustainable project.  The answer is a definite yes.

 

In the first place, it is costing the state in the region of  R400.00 per person per day to keep a prisoner locked up. This means that if an inmate qualifies for parole and is not able to be released for reasons already mentioned, and he has to be incarcerated  for a further 2 or 3 years, for instance, it will cost the state a further R146000.00 per year, multiplied by the number of years of his parole.  If you were to multiply this by 10 inmates who can be channeled to The Sanctuary, it makes for some awesome reading.  If you also take into consideration the amount, or percentage of prisoners, which according to statistics is about 45%, who is back in prison within a very short while of being released, the impact of The Sanctuary will be immense.

 

Another aspect to be considered is the impact it will have on society in general.  Every inmate who is given a new lease on life, will become an asset to society, by becoming productive, able to support himself as well as his family, instead of being a drain and liability to society.  The family, who were candidates to be victims of poverty, alcohol abuse, drug abuse and child abuse, will in turn each one grow up to have a normal life, which is their right.  Instead of the chance of them becoming street children, they will have a chance to develop their talents, like arts and sports, ride a bicycle and sleep in a secure environment, with both his parents.

 

It stands to reason, therefore that the authorities, once they see the results produced by The Sanctuary, will be more than willing to support such a project financially. There are huge amounts of money set aside by government for the uplifting of people.

 

The first step will be prayer. Prayer for God to prepare a way and to prepare the hearts of those responsible for deciding the issues involved in such a venture.

Meetings will then have to be set up with those officials, in order to have an official mandate, or at least approval.

 

There are many legal issues at stake, which have to be addressed. One of which is the matter of responsibility for the parolee.  Until such time as the inmate has served his full sentence, the Correctional Services are responsible for the well-being of the inmate. It stands to reason therefore that a proper infrastructure will have to be in place before such approval will be considered.

 

With favor given By God in the hearts of other Christians, especially Christian Commerce, inmates will be enlisted in 'on the job training' during their time of  parole and stay at The Sanctuary.  Such an employer will have many benefits from participating in the project.  In the first place, a parolee is bound by his parole conditions, to stick to his training, for the duration of his parole period. If he desires to leave, it has to be back to prison. Not that he will want to leave, because the opportunity afforded him is not to be laughed at.  This means any employer will have a good return on his training outlay.

 

Because the parolee is a Christian of long standing, his motivation is entirely different to the normal employee, and he can be trusted with more authority, and responsibility.  In turn the parolee will be afforded the opportunity to prove himself, as well as to generate an income for his own and his family's support.  He will be required, once he is employed, to contribute to the cost of his stay at The Sanctuary.

There will be those who will not be employed on the outside. These will be employed on the premises in different  projects such as chicken raising, hot houses, pork farming, dairy farming and maintenance etc.  Excess products will be sold to cover costs.

 

There will also be the ongoing expansion of the whole project, which means buildings to be erected. It will open training fields in things like plumbing, electricians, tilers, carpenters and much more.  Expertise from outside will be brought in, but the main workforce will come from within.

 

The whole project of The Sanctuary is based on whether or not it is a work of God. If so, than all it will need is to, on a continual basis, be led by the Spirit of God, for daily insight and wisdom, as to the management of The Sanctuary.