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Article Title: The Medical Contribution and Influence of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in the Limpopo Province
by Mbulaheni Aaron Ravhudzulo

Abstract:
In South Africa the origin and spread of formal education in one of the once neglected areas during apartheid era, the Limpopo Province is attributed to the arrival of the missionaries who laboured among the Blacks. At first all the missionary societies were interested in mainly Christianizing the indigenous people, i.e. winning souls for the Kingdom of God. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church Missionaries were no exception in this regard. They started by establishing mission stations all over South Africa including the Limpopo Province. Medical missions became an integral part of the Evangelization process, for in the areas where the missionaries settled there were no medical practitioners. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church missionaries who were in the process of preaching the Gospel, found it necessary and unavoidable to educate the illiterate and heal the indigenous people. This article explores and illustrates how the Evangelical Presbyterian Church medical missions became efficient institutions, despite their constraints, short comings in the Limpopo Province.

Keywords: missionary societies, indigenous people, presbyterian church, medical missions, traditional healers.

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