South Africa. A connection that lasts.
My year with the Sisters of St. Paul, our parish visit in 2026 and projects that open up possibilities for people.
Support the projects
I arrived with a plan.
And found my path.
After completing civilian service, I spent a year with the Sisters of St. Paul in South Africa. At the time, I wanted to study medicine. I did not yet know that this year would take my life in a different direction.
I lived with the sisters and helped in their kindergartens and care homes. It was about the simple, necessary things: lending a hand, sharing time, being there for people. Faith met me there first as lived closeness rather than as an explanation.
Through everyday life and encounters, the desire to become a priest slowly grew. South Africa changed how I saw people and understood faith. A quiet intuition became a decision that later led me to study theology in Munich.
What remains is my connection with the people and the sisters. And the conviction that hope becomes tangible wherever people give one another room and take responsibility for each other.
After 26 years:
familiar faces, new encounters.
In October 2026 I returned to South Africa with a group from our parish. There were 18 of us, travelling through remarkable landscapes and, above all, meeting people with whom I share a long history.
With the Sisters of St. Paul in Reitz, Senekal and Petrus Steyn, we experienced their work in kindergartens, with people with intellectual disabilities and in care homes. Sister Beatrix, a good friend, accompanied our group. Old friendships came alive and new connections grew.
Some encounters with poverty and difficult living conditions were deeply troubling. At the same time, the warmth, hospitality and joy of the people touched us. On our final evening together we celebrated worship, met the new Bishop of Bethlehem, Motlatsi Meshack Phomane, shared a meal — and danced.
Our journey also took us from Johannesburg via Kruger National Park and Addo Elephant National Park to the Cape. But the most important memory cannot be marked on a map: the experience of being welcome and remaining connected.
Help that reaches everyday life.
For children, families and older people
- Two kindergartens
- The project founded by Sister Elisabeth Anton for children orphaned by AIDS
- A care home for older people
The projects offer children a reliable place and accompany people at different stages of life. Sister Elisabeth Anton from Herxheim has since died. The project she founded for children who have lost their parents to AIDS continues. Support helps keep her work alive.
Support that upholds dignity
The sisters support people with intellectual disabilities. Their work brings together everyday assistance, personal attention and community.
At its heart are people with their own needs, abilities and inherent dignity.
Not alone in later life
The care home is a place of support, encounter and shared life. The sisters are there for older people and accompany them in everyday life.
Donations help sustain this reliable care.
Help also reaches families in the township: for example, through food, additional living space or a bed for a sick mother. The sisters visit people and see where practical support is needed.
People. Encounters. Shared life.
Photos from my year in South Africa, the sisters’ projects and our return visit in 2026. Select a photo to open it larger.
Joy that connects us.
We sing “Ha ho ya tshwanang le Jesu” – “There is no one like Jesus.” Other lines tell of travelling, searching everywhere and finding no one like him.
This was my song in South Africa. It accompanies my search for God and for what sustains my life. When I sing it today, the encounters of that time come alive again – along with the longing that still moves me.
Support the work of the sisters.
There are two ways to contribute. Please choose the bank transfer to the parish if you need a donation receipt.
Bank transfer to the parish
- Account holder
- Katholische Kirchengemeinde
Hl. Hildegard von Bingen Dudenhofen - Bank
- Liga-Bank Regensburg-Speyer
- IBAN
- DE80 7509 0300 0000 0653 23
- BIC
- GENODEF1M05
- Reference
- Spende Südafrika
For a donation receipt, please provide your full name and postal address to the parish office. For questions, contact jens.henning@bistum-speyer.de.
Contribute directly via PayPal
The payment goes to Jens Henning personally, who will forward it to the projects in South Africa.
No donation receipt can be issued for these personal PayPal payments.
Support directly via PayPal ↗Recipient account:
henningjens@web.de
Jens Henning’s personal PayPal.Me link opens in a new window. Choose an amount and add “Spende Südafrika” as the message. Check the recipient before sending. A connection to PayPal is made only when you select the link.