This publication is a substantial, rigorous, reflective and comprehensive contribution to the community-building practitioner sphere of work via collating, documenting and analysing five years of grassroots interventions through IJR projects and its successes, failures and lessons learned in the shape of the “Pathways for connection: An Emerging Model for Long-Term Reconciliation in Post-Conflict South Africa. IJR’s longitudinal “mile-deep” work over this time in key communities has enabled us to put forward an emerging model for social change and the preconditions and characteristics required to sustain this change, for practitioners, communities, local government and other key influencers and owners to progress positive change.