The impact of COVID-19 on the vulnerable in households: a missional reflection from the township of Soshanguve

Abstract

Pandemics disrupt the normal routine of life in society. Such has been the case with COVID-19. This disruption is also an opportunity to reflect on structures highlighted by this pandemic, such as households. Households became the centre of social life after the lockdown restrictions closed down businesses, schools and non-essential activities. The fragility of this centre has been exposed in communities, such as the township of Soshanguve. In this community, vulnerable members of households, namely children and women have been victims of abuse. The COVID-19 restrictions saw a surge in child neglect and intimate partner violence (IVP). Such a situation should concern the church. This article stresses that the church should put the emancipation of households at the centre of its priorities. Functional households could be an engine for building local communities and society as a whole. The church could prioritise leading by example, what it means to care well for children, empower men and women to learn to resolve differences without resorting to violence and equip men to be involved parents and spouses. Such a priority would also involve getting training in mental health which may be one of the causes of violent behaviour. This article concludes that the church has a critical role to play in empowering households to be the centre of good quality of life and contain the spread of the coronavirus. Such a role could be a practical way to design the kind of society we would like to become.