Mandela day 2012: A child touched my Spirit

It’s those beautiful wide smiles, the innocent genuine gestures that will make me go back. They seemed not to care who we were but they just saw visitors who were happy to be with them, they didn’t care about our Job positions, our powers at work or our social status nor even interested in the motive of our visit. They just saw caring individuals with lots of love. Even if any of us had a different motive or was forced to be there, I believe for a moment that vanished but instead enjoyed every moment.

You got to love their vibrant unique personalities; they make one realize how different we all are. As I kneeled down to draw with some of them, they got so comfortable with me so quickly that it reminded me how hard it can be sometimes to just introduce yourself to a stranger, but they did it with such  ease. I drew some pictures of cars, houses and flowers on piece of paper and instructed them to colour the pictures inside, others understood immediately other took time to digest my instructions, it made me appreciate the work of crèche teachers. The other boy was so small than the others in one table but his intellect was amazing, he was like the mature one amongst them, when one child was having problem answering a question, he would jump in and say ‘his name is kgothatso’, so we would move on with our conversation. He seemed so calm and quite, and he was the first one to finish my assignment successfully. A cliché rang in my mind; don’t judge a book by its cover. I moved to the next table the was one boy who had an interesting personality, he was the loud one in the group, sure of himself even checking if others were doing the correct thing while falling behind with his own colouring and the was this little mistress who looked so tidy, the first question she asked me was when are we going to eat, and I said only when you have finished the colouring and a few minutes later I was hearing, ‘I’m done, I’m done’. Luckily for me it was already lunchtime by then or I would have been a dead man. I would fill many pages just explaining my wonderful experience with the little ones. These kids had tolerance, they understood each other’s short comings, and they were happy. Personally I didn’t see anything wrong with them, what was wrong was the environment they were in, but it gave me peace to see the joy in their eyes. I believe they don’t even think of themselves as poor, which too eased my mind.

 My colleagues went about saying how poor the people of the area were, asking themselves why does people living in such poverty having so many kids and making jokes about how the only source of fun for them was sex. It saddened me to hear people judging others, and making their own conclusions about people’s lives. I believe if it was a choice nobody could have chosen to be poor and nobody could have wished for his kids to live in poverty stricken environment. But I believe every mother love her kids and would go out of her way every day and make plans to see to it that her child doesn’t go to bed with an empty stomach. I believe every parent would like to see her little angel prosper and successful one day.

Where do we get the nerve to judge the poor? If we could just take a few step back into the past will see how our grandparents struggled so we can be where we are today, especially us black people. If my grandmother didn’t wake up every day at four o’clock in the morning to catch a bus to Lichtenburg to work in a kitchen of some white women, I wouldn’t have graduated from university today. She swallowed her pride and made sure her last born, who was fortunate to be born in an era that allowed a black person better education, to concentrate on her studies and not worry herself about where will the next plate of food come from. I would just imagine what the gods; people who judge, of those days said about my family. But because of a parent’s love, my mother got her nursing degree and she’s now a successful career woman. Oh and thank to the powers above my grandmother lives to see the success stories of her family.

Now same thing about the parents at Rooigrond, we know nothing about where they come from. We shouldn’t even begin to neither assume nor judge. But rather remain hopeful that God will answer their prayers and do what we can to help, especially those innocent souls.

I will surely go back one day and help where I can if a Good Samaritan won’t overtake me. I would help plant the lawn, install playing equipment such as swings, etc. Make everything possible to make the crèche a pleasant place for my little brothers and sisters.  Oh God help me that I can afford to do greater things for those inspiring souls ,not just at Rooigrond but everywhere I come across a child in need.

I hope that this is not my aspiration alone but that This Generation will just be as eager and inspired to help the less fortunate.

My soul is alright with me

Through the journey of life I have learned that we don’t control life, all we can do is dream, do our best possible to attain them, but whether it will happen according to our plan is totally out  of our will. So we are to be prepared always of the eventual outcome and learn to accept them so we can live this life to the fullest with little or no regrets. Lets always stay cheerful even when the are those who take joy in seeing others suffer, who make it their mandate to see others not progressing in life so to feel good about themselves. Let’s lift our head high, posture out and wear those beautiful smiles even when fate seems to be against us. For we understand that as long as we still have the ability to use our brain, our hands and our voice we shall turn this situation around. It might take longer than we wish but we have confidence that we will eventually prosper. Meanwhile we should not give up the habit of laughing, of looking good and speaking our minds out, the little joys of this life shouldn’t pass us by, if they do we will have no one to blame but ourselves.

Lets first heal the pains of the past; healing comes from forgiveness, let’s make it a point that we constantly forgive and so doing we’ll have no excuse to be unhappy. It's anger and bitterness that made many people miss the opportunity to living a fulfilled life. We are not to hold on to the mishaps of this life. It's human nature to get upset now and then, but the recipe is, not to be angry for a long time. ‘Wake up call’, time wait for no man.

At the moment we might feel that we missed out on life, that we took time to be at peace with our soul however we should see it as a past period of discovery and let the joyful memories of that time to comfort us. The pains should be remembered as piles of rocks that we had to encounter in order to get to the top. Now we are at the top of the hill and the stones don’t matter anymore, we should just look down and see how far we have come and take pride in the fact that we are strong beings and didn’t give up in the journey of life. Some decided it was too hard for them to bear and committed suicide as a way out but we held on, I’m not saying they were cowards; it will be unfair of me to judge.

However let us rejoice about our will power and use that to carry us forward.

Our father of the nation Tata Nelson Mandela dedicated his life to serving this nation, lets join the rest of the world to commemorate his legacy. Many children grow up without the love of their parents. Now lets make it our responsibility that they too may have a memory to look back to and one day tell the tales that life wasn’t all bad ,to testify that humanity still exist. I believe it can’t be easy for them so lets make them realize the simple joys of life. You need not spend a fortunate just dedicate your time and make the little ones smile, it will be enough.

                               Our Strength

You may write me down in history 

With your bitter, twisted lies, 

You may trod me in the very dirt 

But still, like dust, 

I'll rise. 

 Does my sassiness upset you? 

Why are you beset with gloom? 

'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells 

Pumping in my living room. 

 Just like moons and like suns, 

With the certainty of tides, 

Just like hopes springing high, 

Still I'll rise. 

 Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes? 

Shoulders falling down like teardrops, 

Weakened by my soulful cries? 

 Does my haughtiness offend you?

 Don't you take it awful hard 

'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines

 Diggin' in my own backyard. 

 You may shoot me with your words, 

You may cut me with your eyes, 

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

 But still, like air, I'll rise.

 Does my sexiness upset you? 

Does it come as a surprise 

That I dance like I've got diamonds 

At the meeting of my thighs? 

 Out of the huts of history's shame 

I rise 

Up from a past that's rooted in pain 

I rise I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, 

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. 

 Leaving behind nights of terror and fear 

I rise 

Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear

 I rise 

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, 

I am the dream and the hope of the slave. 

I rise I rise I rise.

By Maya Angelou (not original title)

Our Struggle – Part 1

This generation too has its own struggle that it is facing. Our struggle is different from that of the previous generation; they fought the enemy that was visible to them. They took to the street and charged someone with responsibility. The white apartheid government was responsible for the oppression of people with colour. Today who is responsible for homophobic attacks, who is responsible for children trafficking, who’s responsible for fathers and relatives raping and killing the innocents children, for the hijacking, burglary, xenophobia, the list is endless. The truth is there is no physical instution, at least I don’t know of any, where then can we take our mandate of grievances?

The atheist will say we are shifting responsibility if we say the is a spiritual institution that is corrupting our society, they will say we are wrong to blame it all on satan. But our statement is that there is a spiritual realm above our strength that we don’t have power over. In fact Christianity teaches of two spiritual kingdoms that are in charge, the other is the kingdom of darkness that is oppressing This Generation, the other is the kingdom of light that frees.

We cannot shift the blame, correct, because this two kingdoms obliges no one to submit, it is left to our own discretion to choose where we submit ourselves. This Generation should make its own choices, most youth have unconsciously have submerged to the Kingdom of Darkness, this is clear by their deeds .but we refuse to all be victims but we are to deliver our fellow brothers and sisters. We can only show them that there is a kingdom that saves, that frees and promise fruitful gains, it up to them to come under the rule of our kingdom.

We believe we are the creation of the Most high. He gave us this life as a gift, and a gift should bring happiness and that’s how we intend to live this life; with the utmost joy. This other force in the world has no power over He who is in us. It’s through Him that we manage to smile in the mist of sorrow and pain.

Now we stand with our brothers and sisters in Northern Cape who are taking to the streets to say one death of a human being because of his sexual orientation is one too many, to say no one have the right to take the life of another human. To say it’s inhumane to voice your opinion in such an evil manner. Thapelo Makutle we may not know him in person but from what we have read he lived his short life with pride and happiness. May his soul sleep in peace. Now lets hope the planned match will raise awareness about homophobic attacks and will change the mind set of the people of that province, if it can just change one individual ,then will be one step closer to our victory.

Our Statement

"In the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God. From the very beginning the Word was with God. Through him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him" John 1 v 1-3 (GN)

This begins to emphasize the power there is in a word. So it is through the power of words that we are to change the mind set of this generation and that we are to re-generate its morals. This generation will solve its own problems for we understand what make us fall and what will make us rise. We celebrate our diversity, we tolerate what doesn't cause pain, we love all creation and acknowledge that its mysteries belongs to the power above our own strength, we take it upon our shoulders to rid all evil corrupting the beauty of this creation by power of Word and Prayer.

So we unite despite our differences for this common purpose.

This Blog will challenge the current social status of our youth
Act as a voice for the vulnerable minority discriminated against for their sexual orientation
Reconcile our religions with our sexuality
See to it that the principles of our Lord and his ideal Christianity is upheld

We shall live to see a peaceful, tolerant and conducive society for This Generation, where everybody will be eager to live another day, where all we see life as a gift not as a burden and celebrate life with enthusiasm.