16-06-2023
There was a dream. A purpose. A mission and then there was bloodshed, loss and devastation.
Why? Power! Control! Territory!
Earlier this year, we did a roadshow across schools in Gauteng to share the Resilient Minds toolkit with young learners. The ask was for educators to experiment with cultivating positive brain health and building resilience using our products.
What I found instead was a much harsher reality. A glaring picture of the wreckage caused by greed and corruption. All I could think was: Will this initiative even be enough? These people are already resilient! On a scale between success and failure, where would post apartheid South Africa tip?
My aunt and I chatted about the 1976 Soweto uprising briefly on our way back home after unpacking her eldest sisters’ house. The already sombre mood grew heavier. What started as a demonstration for access to fair and equitable education turned into bloodshed and almost 50 years later, it’s faded into an ordinary public holiday that most of us use leisurely.
Anyone can write a fancy speach and put forward a convincing strategy, Mr President, but we can’t be fooled any longer.
I (we) see the failing infrastructure. I (we) see the rising costs. The poverty. The violence. I see the consequences of a failing economy in the job market, how those who have the privilege of education are taking their knowledge and skill with them as they exit the country, leaving our beautiful land because YOU and YOUR ‘comrades’ have failed the people of SOUTH AFRICA. Where’s the equity in that?