A group of Christian leaders in the Eastern Free State town of Harrismith aim to help people get out of debt and into ‘a spacious financial space’ through an innovative programme that will provide interest free loans and financial mentoring. It’s called Fruits of Righteousness Programme. The vision is to empower the Body of Christ and to bring freedom in the financial sphere. Debt is a huge problem affecting many people in South Africa. After apartheid ended the international development community promoted the microcredit model to bring new jobs, incomes, empowerment and dignity to the poorest black communities and townships. However, the microcredit model has inflicted untold damage on the South African society. Unemployment is high, many of the poorest were forced to repay their microloan by selling household assets, borrowing from friends and family or taking out new microloans to repay old ones. Many are in chronic poverty. See also: