But they immediately had to deal with the legacy of vandalism and mistrust, which showed itself through conflict within the groups which they assembled and theft and malicious damage to the Peace Centre facilities. The Peace Centre recruited local people as staff and they worked unceasingly with the local community to build trust and stimulate a pride and a responsibility for their surroundings. These are still problems which they face today for there is a frequently encountered attitude towards rights held by many people in South Africa that the government must provide. Whilst people may be justified in thinking that now it is their turn to be helped this attitude does not encourage constructive development. The Peace Centre staff respond by training Gardens Committees in management, record keeping, small business skills, conflict handling and assertiveness for women to inspire people to take responsibility for the outcomes of their own lives.
People are hungry for knowledge and there is no shortage of willing learners.
The Peace Centre staff work to create food security for their gardeners using two strategies. Firstly, through the efficient running of three community gardens which in total cater for approximately 240 gardeners and secondly, through the establishment of peoples own backyard gardens which currently number about 1400. The community gardens are for people who have no access to their own land and are typically single parent families, mostly female headed households, who are unemployed and have children to feed. It is very common for grandparents to be financially responsible for several of their own children and grandchildren. Too many of the young people who went through the struggle against the apartheid government missed out on their own education and these people are now parents with little opportunity, for the majority of them, of ever finding employment unless they create their own.