“All is withered and burnt”

The Algemene Armesorg Kommissie of the Dutch Reformed Church’s drought alleviation work in the Ring of Clanwilliam circa 1923–1929

Abstract

In the years 1923-1929 the Clanwilliam Ring of the Dutch Reformed Church was struck by a drought that left the area’s traditionally rural and agricultural population struggling with issues of food security, unemployment, and bankruptcy. Occurring in the early 20th century, the still nascent Union government was unwilling to dedicate the resources to direct food assistance schemes under flawed sociological reasoning and lacked the institutional capacity necessary to provide direct alleviation for the impacts of the drought. Consequently, the Dutch Reformed Church became the main overseer of food provision and charitable relief efforts among stricken communities through its Algemene Armesorg Kommissie. Local Dominees, deacons and elders of the church bodies in the arid Karoo acted as a grass roots organization in the monitoring and distribution of assistance (primarily through clothing and food donations) for local communities. This article focuses on the social and political realities that led to the Dutch Reformed Church playing a central role in combating the impact of the 1923–1929 drought in the ring of Clanwilliam. The study made use of archival primary sources mostly from the Dutch Reformed Church Archive in Stellenbosch, with additional sources from the Western Cape Archival Repository System and the National Archive of South Africa. Secondary research sources such as published journal articles and books, as well as unpublished dissertations were used to contextualize primary information and to add previous studies’ discussions on the topic. The study proves that the church, through its well-organized Algemene Armesorg Kommissie charity wing, acted as a much-needed intermediary often organizing and distributing donations of food, clothing and money from donors in other congregations to drought-stricken areas in a time when the government could not or would not provide such assistance.