Youth Ministry as an Agent for Reconciliation in the Breakdown of Coloured Families, from Urban Communities in Cape Town: A Post- Apartheid Perspective 1

Reconciliation in its most basic definition means coming together especially in the light of misunderstanding and prejudices. When one thinks of reconciliation from a South African perspective, apartheid, racial segregation and injustices spring to mind with various results and negative consequences. One such consequence is the breakdown of the family and while there are many contemporary factors that continually threaten the family; it is not hard to acknowledge and understand the effects that apartheid and social injustices has had on the family. This paper will therefore highlight some of the effects that the apartheid system has had on the family structure with particular reference to the Coloured Community of the Cape Flats, some of the consequences the breakdown of the family has on the youth i and how youth ministry can act as an agent for reconciliation in the family within this context.