The church of St Michaels and All Angels is set in the sprawling community of Khayelitsha, which means 'our new home'. Khayelitsha is in fact just over 15 years old but it is the third largest township in South Africa and home to over a million people, the result of displacement and massive urban migration.

The most recent arrivals have to contend with overcrowding, shanty houses and a lack of basic facilities. With a burgeoning population of young people and children, the schools are overcrowded and there are few, if any sports or extracurricular facilities.

Nevertheless the parents of this community are committed to giving their children the best education they can afford, even if it means paying for transport costs into Cape Town, 30 km away. They have to leave home early in the morning and arrive back late, leaving them tired and with little time to play.

It was against this background that St Michaels saw the need for a school based on Christian principles that would provide a quality education, in the local community.

St Michaels and All Angels have been serving this impoverished community for the past 9 years, starting off in a hall made out of disused shipping containers.

In 2001, R 1, 3 million was raised for the multi-purpose church building. The size of the congregation fluctuates between 250 and 300. Church programs include the Bernard Mizeki guild, Mothers Union, Anglican Women's fellowship, Anglican Youth Fellowship, GFS & BFS, Servers guild, Mary Magdalene.

Besides spiritual programs and church planting St Michaels also manages programs which seek to address problems in the community, education, HIV/AIDS, women and child abuse and poverty.

These include:
Sophumelela preschool - currently has 210 / 220 children attending on a daily basis.- been running for 5 years

Iliso Lomzi - a support group for HIV positive people, which offers pastoral care, income generating opportunities and nutritional support

Simameleni - a child abuse action group, which runs workshops in schools; follows up cases of abuse and mobilizes the community against child abuse

The Khayelitsha Craft Market
This building now houses the Khayelitsha Craft Market (www.stmichaels.org.za), which was started by St Michaels in 1998. The market now opens 6 days a week and is one of Cape Town's top 20 tourist attractions. It offers self-employment opportunities to 28 crafters who take pride in the fact that there are products are sold to visitors from every corner of the globe.