Media coverage of Archbishop's Christmas sermon

SABC news clip:





ENCA news clip:





From South Africa's media:

TimesLIVE:  Archbishop: Liberation denied by our violent ways

news24: SA must stop solving problems through violence - Archbishop Thabo Makgoba

IOL: South Africans need to stop trying to solve problems through violence - Archbishop Makgoba

Daily Maverick [excerpt]: The flames of darkness associated with violence need to be extinguished forever

Eyewitness News: Makgoba ‘concerned’ about high levels of aggression in SA

iAfrica: Archbishop Thabo Makgoba Condemns Levels Of Violence in SA

The Citizen: Violence will not solve SA’s problems – Archbishop Makgoba

Algoa FM: Violence will not solve SA's problems - Archbishop Makgoba  


Overseas - Archbishop Thabo with Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu

Daily Mail, London (photo): Millions of Christians gather in churches around the world to celebrate Christmas  

Gulf News (photo): Christmas brings cheer to people around the globe


Earlier bulletins:

Eyewitness News: Makgoba: '2019 will define new South Africa'

Eyewitness News: Archbishop Makgoba condemns levels of violence in SA 

Early Christmas morning news from the SABC:

Archbishop Thabo's Christmas sermon, 2018

(Photo: St George's Cathedral)

A sermon preached at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve in St George's Cathedral, Cape Town:

Isaiah 62:6-12, Psalm 97, Titus 3:4-7, Luke 2:(1-7), 8-20 or John 1:1-14

May I speak in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Welcome to this beautiful service in this beautiful cathedral among multitudes of God's beautiful children, all of us made in God's image. This is one of my favourite nights of the year, a night on which I feel a certain magic. I'm not sure whether it's the spirit of kindness I feel emanating from all of you, or the joy I see in the eyes of our children, but whatever it is, this time of year always puts a smile on my face, especially when the sun goes down and the night comes alive with the twinkling of the Christmas lights.
And this Christmas, I also feel a renewed energy in our country, a little like the way I felt when our children took us a few weeks ago to the Global Citizens' music festival in Johannesburg. (Although I have to admit that I couldn't stay long enough to watch BeyoncĂ©!!) This Christmas, I believe we’re about to re-enter a new age, an era where we define the new South Africa.

Archbishop pays tribute to Albertina Sisulu - "One of the mothers of our nation"

Sermon preached at the Thanksgiving Service for Mrs Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu, on her 100th birthday, at Holy Cross Parish, Orlando West, on October 21, 2018:

Readings: Job 38: 1-7 (34-41), Psalm 104:1-10, 35-36; Hebrews 5:1-10; Mark 10:35-45

May I speak in the name of God the Father, Son and the Comforter. Amen

A warm welcome to you all on this wonderful occasion where we commemorate one of the icons of our struggle. Welcome especially to you, leaders in Government, and to all the members of the Sisulu family here present.

Sermon for the Easter Vigil, St George's Cathedral, Cape Town

Luke 24: 1-9  
 

Alleluia, Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

 

Sisters and Brothers in Christ, as we hear again the glorious story of the Resurrection and its message of new beginnings, may each one of you experience the fullness of Christ’s gift of abundant life. May you know the joy, the hope and the peace that the Season of Easter brings.

Equal Education National Congress

This address was delivered to the Equal Education National Congress on 8 July 2012.

Honourable guests, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, first, let me begin by thanking you for your invitation to speak to you today. Education is a subject very close to my heart.

It is education, as much as anything, that brought me from the townships of Alexandra to where I am today. As a child, I always loved books, and the ideas they contained – and my family will tell you that I haven’t changed, and still spend far too much time (at least in their opinion!) with my nose between the covers of some book or other. I was very fortunate, in that, even in those turbulent times of the 1970s, at Orlando High School I had teachers who encouraged me – not merely in academic study, but who also mentored me and helped me find a good course for my life.

Today, eighteen years into democracy, with the political turmoil behind us, it is a tragedy that good educational opportunities are not available to every single boy and girl in our country. Not only that, but it still costs young, activist, lives to register our despair at this current system. (May the soul of Ingubo – that courageous Equal Education activist, killed recently – rest in peace. I call for a police investigation into his killing).

We know that it is not an easy task to overcome the legacies of the past – but even taking that into consideration, there is far too much within our current education system that is a crying shame. We all know about the textbooks scandal in Limpopo. We also all too often hear of teachers who turn up late, or drunk, or who fail their learners in other ways – with many of these even boasting of being unionised and protected from any form of discipline for such ill-doing. What an indictment on quality teaching, and on being a union member, this attitude reveals! This should be halted.

Beyond all these is the added problem that even where teachers and learners are striving to do their best, it is often in the face of inadequate facilities: working with deficient classrooms, without electricity or water, with next to no toilets, and other significant lacks. This is to say nothing of those learners who come to school battling with hunger.

Yet it is easy enough to list the problems and throw up our hands in despair. It is another matter to roll up our sleeves, and work, so that we can be part of the solution.

So today I want to pay tribute to Equal Education; to Doron Isaacs, to your colleagues, to your board, to all the "Equalizers" and to all who work in partnership with you. In a short time, you have come a long way, and are making a difference where it is needed. I was proud to have been part of your ‘One School, One Library’ activism, I certainly hold that this is a worthy cause.

Thank you, for all you have done, and for all you are doing. Thank you for setting before us a vision of a better educational system – and not just offering a vision, but providing concrete ways of how we can advocate and work to make it a reality.

Therefore it is entirely fitting that now you should hold this National Congress. Now is a good time to review how far you have come, and of all you have achieved – and to consider together where and how you should focus your resources in going forwards from here. I am delighted to see the range of people present here today. For, as we well know, when it comes to making changes for the better, our efforts are most likely to bear fruit, where those whose situation we desire to improve are fully involved in the debate, in making the plans, in formulating policies, and in implementing the programmes. I am encouraged that one of the tasks of this Congress is to elect a new leadership – a leadership fully representative of all those who are concerned to improve the state of education in this country, especially amongst our poorest communities.

The challenges ahead are great. I am sure you will find that you cannot do everything you would like; and that many of the tasks have no easy solutions and will require perseverance. So now is the time to take stock, and consider how best to focus the resources you have: your time, your energies, your financial and other assets. How can you best direct these, so that they have the maximum lasting impact?

So it is not just a matter of looking at what are the biggest issues facing young people, and facing education, in today’s world, and in our nation. That question must be asked – for it sets the context of your work. But then comes the sharper, more strategic, questions: what are the biggest issues facing Equal Education? Where can you make a unique difference? What are the areas which you should make your priority? What are the specific, tangible, goals that you should set yourselves? And then come the tactics: what needs to be done so you can go forward in achieving these goals?

Let me say again what I said at the beginning – it is easy to be disheartened. But we should not let the problems become our central focus. That will only weigh us down and distract us. We need to keep our eyes on the vision of quality education for all. If this is at the heart of our thinking, talking, planning, it will be the magnet that draws us in the direction in which we want to go and need to go.

Behavioural scientists today tell us that to focus on our vision is far more effective than letting what is holding us back dominate our lives. This should come as no surprise. Almost two thousand years ago, St Paul said much the same, in his letter to the Philippians, writing: ‘Whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things’ (Phil 4:8).

So then, in the coming days, in your speaking, your planning, in your electing a fresh leadership, and in finalising your Constitution, I offer you my heartiest encouragement, and the assurance of my prayers. May God bless you, and make you a blessing to others. Thank you.

Fire in Kennedy Road

The following press release was issued on 4 April 2012.

The Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba has sent his condolences and the assurance of his continued support to the people of the Kennedy Road settlement after a tragic fire swept through their community on Tuesday.

The Archbishop conveyed the message through a letter to the Rt Revd Rubin Phillip, Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Natal. He said in a statement:

"We are deeply saddened in Holy Week to learn of the fire which has ravaged the little which the people and community still possessed. I understand that it is estimated that at least 1000 people are now homeless.

"I know of the journey of the people of Kennedy Road: of their struggle for descent housing, for dignity and respect and the realisation of their constitutional rights. As we weep with them at this time, we continue to support their call for dignity and justice, and we appeal to our leaders and to the general population to help provide people with proper houses, and to improve the provision clean water and decent sanitation.

"May the message of Easter bring consolation to the community and a resolve to continue their fight for better housing, sanitation and water, as well as for safety."

Issued by the Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town
Inquiries: Wendy Kelderman on 021- 763-1320 (office hours)

Red Card Corruption Campaign

This is an edited version of the keynote address delivered at the launch of the Red Card Corruption campaign on 20 August 2011 at Walter Sisulu Square, Kliptown, Soweto. It was carried in the Cape Times of 30 August 2011, on p.9.

Corruption Threatens our Dream

In the past, churches and faith communities shared a burning desire, with liberation movements, to replace apartheid with constitutional democracy. Now the challenge is how to make this transition into a practical reality for all South Africans.

As the former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan has said, ‘No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy. Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime.’ In South Africa, we are still learning how to become a democracy, and still feeling our ways into the new relationships appropriate to constitutional democracy. Government, political parties, the private sector, academia, the media, civil society, faith communities and so forth, now each have our distinctive contributions to make to the life of the nation as a whole. We are still learning where we should stand in solidarity, and where we should be critical; what it means to hold and to exchange legitimately diverse perspectives; and how to deliver and receive criticism that is constructive.

The way to pursue such maturing democracy is to abide by our constitution. I want to look at what this means for all of us. As a faith leader, I firmly believe it when God says that people matter. God cares that his beloved children should all have adequate food, shelter, clothing and so forth. God cares that everyone should be treated with complete respect by everyone else, with no one marginalised, excluded or voiceless in the ordering of our common lives. This is what democracy is all about.

As Anglicans we are in solidarity with the needs of the poorest, the most vulnerable, and the most marginalised; including the strangers, the foreigners, in our midst. We are in solidarity with available, affordable health care for all. We are in solidarity with effective rural development. We are in solidarity with education for all that truly equips our young people to be responsible citizens, able to face the challenges of adulthood.

On the other hand, we are critical of a response to crime that leads to escalating deaths among both police and suspects. We are critical of inadequate social support, and of continuing delays faced by too many of the most needy, especially paperless orphans and pensioners – though I recognise that there are some improvements. We are, and you all should be, concerned with honour and respect, with freedom, with unity and diversity, with healing, with democratic values and social justice; with human rights, with quality of life and liberating potential, for every single one of us.

To be subject to our constitution means to breathe life into these commitments to one another.

We are here because many of us believe that corruption – in government and in business and in our communities - is endemic and is eating at the very moral fibre of our nation and its democratic values. Corruption threatens the dream of rooting out residues of apartheid and creating the South Africa we would all be proud of. That is what makes the Red Card Campaign an urgent and important effort. I call on all South Africans not only to sign the pledge but also to inscribe it in our daily lives.

The pledge has two distinct and important parts:

1- It calls upon government to establish a strong, independent, anti-corruption body to investigate all acts of corruption and bring the perpetrators to justice; and

2- It calls upon us to pledge that we will neither take nor offer a bribe, and we will report any such incidents to the relevant authorities.

But there is much more at stake here. The Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC) which has gathered us here places before us a challenge: “A complacent citizenry remains the greatest threat to our constitution. As responsible citizens we should assert our right to actively campaign for the realisation of rights enshrined in the constitution.” We in South Africa have a constitutional democracy for which so many struggled and for which many died. We cannot step back from doing what we can for the realisation of the rights promulgated in the constitution nor can we relinquish the responsibilities that come with democracy. An active and alert citizenry is foremost among those responsibilities. As we all lend our support and work for the public/common good, let us never tire of ‘red-carding’ corruption.

However, it is the responsibility of governments – more than any other body, and more than any other objective – to pursue the public good. In particular government must prioritise the needs of those who are least able to achieve their own wellbeing – the poor, the marginalised, the disadvantaged, and the vulnerable. The Golden Rule calls us all to care for others as we would like to be cared for ourselves.

It seems so simple and yet we experience it to be quite difficult at times. Indeed, the history of our country would be quite different if we had begun long ago to live by this rule. But there is nothing to stop us from making the ‘golden rule’ our baseline in addressing corruption.

Many South Africans acknowledge having offered or having been offered a bribe. Certainly, highly publicised examples of corruption and claims of corruption are the centre of conversation in many circles. As I said during the funeral of Mama Albertina Sisulu, “We see examples of where many have used political power to enrich themselves and their relatives and friends, sometimes through blatant corruption – and so betray the legacy for which the Sisulu family has striven.”

Beyond being illegal and immoral, when money is misused, its potential to be utilised in constructive and helpful ways is lost. Housing, education, health services and social development cry out as obvious examples where we can least afford this. Corruption also causes costs to escalate and often new programmes are sidelined. Money to employ badly needed personnel ‘disappears,’ and resultant understaffing leads to poor services, worsening results, and a continuing downward spiral.

Corruption at this macro level is the point at which many people get most upset. But we must not forget corruption at the lower level. One can imagine situations involving traffic officers and speeding fines and other tickets where one might be tempted to cross the line. Corruption at a lower level – sometimes where the currency isn’t even money, but dishonesty about work done or left undone – has an insidious effect on the type of society we are building, which seriously concerns me as a person of faith. The ability of us all, especially those who are most disadvantaged by society’s injustices, to always ‘do the right thing’ is further undermined when it seems that dishonesty by those in positions of power and influence goes unchecked and unpunished.

Therefore, let us recall the words of the preamble to our constitution:

‘We, the people of South Africa, recognise the injustices of our past; honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land; respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity. We therefore, through our freely elected representatives, adopt this Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic so as to ¬heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights; to lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law; to improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person; and to build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations. May God protect our people.’

These challenging but cherished words are not to be taken lightly nor forgotten. The task of making the preamble of our constitution a reality is considerable – but this cannot be a reason to side-step or seemingly ‘redraft’ it. We must continue to press ahead together.

We can take another important step forward with the Red Card Corruption campaign. Through this we can say an emphatic NO to corruption which slows our pace of development as a nation and weakens the moral fibre of individuals and society. Let us not forget the challenge CASAC has put clearly before us:

“The Constitution is our social contract based on democratic values, social justice, human rights and the improvement of the quality of life of all South Africans. We cannot progress and prosper through greed. An act of corruption is a crime against us all. We call upon the government to establish strong, independent, anti-corruption bodies that can investigate all acts of corruption and ensure those that commit corrupt acts are brought to justice. We must now stand up blow our whistles and Red Card Corruption.”

Please join me as we pledge together:

“I /we pledge neither to receive nor pay a bribe; and to report any attempt to solicit a bribe from me, and other corrupt activities to the relevant authorities.”

If you are interested in signing the pledge, go to www.casac.org.za

Visit to Ficksburg and Tatane Family

Tuesday in Holy Week this year was a very long day. As I sat in the Bloemfontein airport lounge, preparing to board the 6:05pm plane to Cape Town I realised that my emotions were very raw as I reflected on the day. I had left Cape Town at 6:00am to fly to Bloemfontein and then to be driven to Meqheleng, outside Ficksburg. It had been a very long Journey - long in kilometres but also long in terms of feeling the longing for justice to be done and for the poorest of the poor to receive even the most basic services as guaranteed them in our Constitution.

The occasion was a very sad one. Most South Africans would have read about it - the tragic death of Andries Tatane, aged 33, of Ficksburg and the injuries to his fellow community members. Andries and his community members were demanding justice to be done. They wanted to be treated with dignity, to have safe drinking water and proper sanitation - not the bucket system toilets.

They went to present their petition to their elected representative, their Mayor, but were met with water cannons, ironically being attacked with the very thing they don’t have the pleasure of in their daily lives. And if that were not enough, then came a disproportionate police force which claimed Andries’ young life. A dedicated teacher and community worker, he paid with his life to get the attention of his elected leaders.

Minister Shiceka should visit and see the appalling conditions under which God’s people live. Minister Tokyo Sexwale should visit too and provide houses. Minister Nathi Mthethwa and President Zuma should publicly apologise for this embarrassing act of aggression by police. And the commander who issued the instruction to shoot must be arrested too. I hope this is not to be accepted as a tacit demonstration of the police policy ‘shoot to kill’.

As we approach Easter, a season of life and hope, I want to send my condolences again to the Tatane family, as I did verbally on Tuesday. I pray that they may have the strength and courage and faith to get through this terrible time in their lives. In addition to the tragedy of Andries’ death, which was ‘shared’ with South Africans and the world through the media, I also pray that the family will have adequate compensation to build a new home and an opportunity to rebuild their lives, and that Andries’s death will ensure that all the Meqheleng residents will also have better houses and adequate services.

I pray for hope and fearlessness in demanding that we be served by our elected leaders. I pray we too may come to know our responsibilities to one another. Perhaps this may be a positive outcome of the very public nature of this violent tragedy – that we may turn our outrage into actions – actions which will lead to better lives for all our sisters and brothers who still suffer from the indignities which failed delivery of basic services imposes on their lives. We can all begin by taking our upcoming local elections seriously. In our voting may we prayerfully consider - who will get the job done? And once the elections have taken place and our elected leaders are in place, let us demand leadership with results – especially for the poorest of the poor. They have listened to promises for too long. And those of us who are privileged to have basic services and more, we cannot be silent any longer. We are one family – God’s family – and we have responsibilities to one another.

NOTE: Archbishop went to Ficksburg in his capacity as Patron of the EMN and chair of the Eminent Persons’ Group of the EMN. The Anglican Bishop of the Free State is the local Bishop and All Saints Anglican Church is located in the town of Ficksburg.

For more information, contact Siya Gidi (EMN) at 0729350892 or Wendy Tokata (Office of the Archbishop) at 021 763 1320. This statement is being released jointly by the EMN Office in Cape Town and the Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town.

To the Laos - To the People of God, Easter 2011

Dear People of God

Alleluia! Christ is risen! As St Paul writes, ‘We have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection life like his’ (Rom 6:4,5). Jesus, by his cross and resurrection, has freed us from the slavery of sin, broken the chains of death, and opened the way to heaven, where, in the Lord’s presence, there is fullness of joy and delight for evermore (Ps 16:11).

This Lent I have been pondering what it means to say ‘Yes’ to God as Mary did when the angel Gabriel announced she had been chosen to be the mother of our Lord. What does it mean for us to say, with her, ‘Here I am, the Servant of the Lord’? Writing this as Holy Week approaches, I am reflecting also on Jesus’ obedience to the will of the Father, as he prayed ‘Not my will but yours be done’ in the garden of Gethsemane – which I was privileged to visit earlier this year.

In the past, too many people were forced into servant-hood – but thank God, today we have freedom and choice. We can willingly choose to say ‘I am a servant of the Lord.’ The God of love, care and compassion, seeks only our best. He does not exploit or oppress. Being his servant means liberty, not servitude. We put our hand in the hand of the living God, our Saviour Jesus Christ, who leads us in the ways that bring his promise of abundant life for ourselves and others around us.

By abundant life I mean that God desires no human being should be in want. No one should be hungry, or without clothing and shelter when it is cold and wet. God calls on his servants to use the hearts, brains, and will-power he gives us, to do what is right, to care for one another so that none are wanting. We also ask that our politicians should know how to be servant leaders. But too often we see tolerance of corruption, dysfunctional government, and neglect of the poor. God desires no-one to have too little, and so no one should have too much. No-one should profit at another’s expense or wellbeing. God calls us to remove the yoke of servitude. Yet to exploit, or merely neglect, others is to promote servitude, which diminishes all of society. Scripture warns that this is the path to condemnation and destruction.

People’s lives are at stake, and South Africans, who face local elections in May, must never forget this, as we decide how to vote. Will we choose life for all, or opulence for some at the expense of others? We are not a rich country, but what we have should be enough to go round. Everyone should have proper food, shelter, fresh drinking water and sanitation. Every child should have access to a decent education. Affordable, adequate health care should be available to everyone.

South Africa has achieved much since 1994, but I still ask, Where is the urgency among politicians to ensure basic services for all? Have those who seek elected office not understood that to lead is also to serve? They should remember that Jesus said ‘The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life’ – to give his life so that those in need might also know life (Matthew 20:28). Is this the model our politicians follow, in both words and action?

In their campaigning, they must also remember that in a democracy, God is not for or against any particular political party. God is the servant of no party and its manifesto. Rather, God calls on all the parties and all the politicians to serve him, and to serve the people of this nation: to put the needs of the needy before their own ambitions, interests, and desires for power and status. They should be judged by Jesus’ own ‘manifesto promises and policies’. This means bringing good news to the poor, loving our neighbours as ourselves, and treating others as we would like to be treated. Jesus had time for the outcasts, excluded and unimportant people of his day – reminding us that every human being is made in the image of God, and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.

These are the standards we expect of our politicians as elections draw near. I am proud to be part of the Election Monitoring Network and to chair the Electoral Code of Conduct Observer Commission that holds political parties to a Code of good behaviour, that all sign. It is a commitment to the right to free speech; to tolerance; to promoting open and fair debate between parties, and among candidates and those who support them. It is about behaving with decency and good manners in the little things – not defacing or destroying the posters of others; not shouting people down; not making threats; not spreading false rumours or telling half truths. EMN has set up a national SMS number – 33830 – for reporting any form of violence or other contravention of the Electoral Code. Do use it!

For all the Code of Conduct does is to require the behaviour of any decent democratic society – the sort of society in which we want to live and raise our children. All of us, in all the countries of ACSA, are the building blocks of democracy, and when standards fall short, we can raise our voices to say ‘Enough is enough! We will not accept intolerance. We will not accept the demonising of others. We will not accept the abuse of God’s name in support of narrow party or sectarian interests.’ Instead, in our lives, our words, our actions, we will show others what it means truly to live as servants of the living God – to say Yes, as Mary did, so that God’s good purposes for humanity might find expression and fulfilment through us. And we invite others to join us, and do the same – so that the Easter promise of abundant life that Jesus won for us on the cross may be known by all.

I am delighted to report that this month the land ownership questions around Modderpoort were finalised in a 'win-win' outcome that benefits all concerned. The Bautang community, who dropped their claim against the church, will pursue compensation with the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights. The Diocese of the Free State retain now-uncontested ownership of the land and will continue as stewards of this sacred site. Please join us in thanking God for a solution that promotes social cohesion and national reconciliation, and praying that it may be an encouragement in other difficult questions around land ownership and use.

Finally, on 7 May we consecrate new Bishops for the Dioceses of George and St Helena. Please keep the Ven Brian Marajh, and the Very Revd Richard Fenwick in your prayers. Richard joins us from Wales, and we welcome him, and his wife Jane, to our Province.

Yours in the service of Christ

+Thabo Cape Town

President Zuma's Use of Religious Language, and State of the Nation Address

This statement was issued on 11 February 2011

Let us change the discourse. We are approaching municipal elections and once again we are hearing words and words and more words. At the same time we see very little action which shows that the poor are being cared for and that service delivery is evident in many parts of our country.

Last night we listened to President Zuma deliver the State of the Nation Address. We applaud the emphasis on the creation of more jobs and greater efforts towards service delivery. We were also glad to hear that government will seek to fill its own vacancies so it can be more effective. Will government also ensure that competence and commitment to those in greatest need are requirements of new workers? The plans sound positive, but the question which looms large as always is the same – can our government deliver on these promises? And, will the Alliance work together for the betterment of the lives of those most disadvantaged persons in our country?

Jesus said to Peter, ’Feed my lambs; tend my sheep and feed my lambs.’ The instruction is to serve and not run to eschatology (concerns about the end of time). The command is to love oneself as you would want others to love you and not to have all interest focused on self and family but rather on your neighbours who are without even the most basic services.

Our concern is not to ‘protect’ Jesus from these issues. Jesus calls us into this battlefield we call our society. Jesus reveals his true identity in the demands he places before President Zuma and the ruling party and before all of us. In short, we are called to bring all people into a fullness of life which God has intended for all his children. This is what it means to followers of Jesus.

Religion and Public Health: Strengthening the Response to Preventable Diseases through Education

The following keynote address was delivered at the National Conference on Religion and Public Health in Stellenbosch on 6 October 2010.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Honoured Guests, dear friends, it is good to be with you this morning, as joint patron of this Conference, along with Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, South Africa's Minister of Health. I am grateful for this opportunity to address the vital relationship between ‘Religion and Public Health’, and in particular to consider how those of us from the faith communities can play our part in ‘Strengthening the Response to Preventable Diseases through Education’. My perspective is particularly through the lens of Judeao-Christian tradition, though I hope what I shall say has wider application among the faith communities.

May I begin by expressing my thanks to the National Religious Association for Social Development; to Fr Richard Menatsi (Chairperson) and Sheik Ahmed Sedick (Vice Chairperson); to Dr Renier Koegelenberg (Executive Secretary), and Canon Desmond Lambrechts (Director of the Public Health Programme); and all who have worked with them, in their organising, and generous hosting, of our time together. We look forward to Dr Motsoaledi joining us later today, so that our conversations and debates around these vital topics can be further broadened and deepened.

From the perspective of Anglicans in Southern Africa, there could hardly be a more auspicious day to meet, for today in the Anglican calendar of saints and heroes of the faith, we remember Henrietta Stockdale – also known as Sister Henrietta, who laid the foundation of professional nursing and modern hospital organisation in Southern Africa. The daughter of an English clergyman, she came to South Africa in response to a plea for teachers and nurses, having first trained in London. In due course, she established Southern Africa’s first training school for nurses in Kimberley, and those she taught also went on to found other training schools across the region. Her conviction of the need for proper authentication of qualifications resulted in the Cape of Good Hope Medical and Pharmacy Act of 1891, which provided for the first state registration of nurses and midwives in the world. She died on this day in 1911.

As I address the specific topic of ‘The contribution of religious networks to primary health care: challenges and expectations’, Sister Henrietta is just one vivid example of how faith communities have been engaged in delivering health care of one sort or another, through the changing circumstances of the world over many centuries. Care and compassion towards those in need, including the sick and suffering, has been a touchstone of most faiths, since ancient times. In the Hebrew Scriptures we read of the prophets denouncing the leaders of the nations as shepherds who fail the flocks entrusted to their care, since they have not ‘strengthened the weak, healed the sick, and bound up the injured’ (cf Ezek 34:4). In the Bible, Jesus tells his followers that whoever tends those who are ill are effectively caring for him – and whoever fails to offer such help stands condemned (Matt 25). Historically, precursors to what we would recognise as hospitals were found in antiquity, but their emergence as we know them today was most strongly influenced by the care provided by the Christian churches, monasteries and religious orders in Europe.

Even now, when the ultimate responsibility for the health sector rests with governments, faith communities remain deeply involved in the delivery of primary care. It was recently estimated by the World Health Organisation that almost half of health services in sub-Saharan Africa are provided by churches. Other faith communities are similarly engaged across the world. And where governments take the major role, as Sister Henrietta’s example demonstrates, today’s health care systems are often historically influenced by the faith communities.

But we are here today to consider not the past, but the present and the future, and to focus our energies, our imaginations, on what can we can do here and now to help make a difference to the health of our country. In doing this, I want to suggest that we as the faith communities ask ourselves three questions: What is the Content that we need to address over the next two days? What are the Processes that we want to suggest for engagement of the faith communities with the Health Ministry? What are the Values that we can particularly bring to the table?

Content

When it comes to the Content of the challenges of the health sector, our starting point can only be that we are not doing as well as we ought, as a nation. Of course, we live with the distorted heritage of the past, when world-class care was provided to the few, while the many were left with far less than adequate provisions. But we are not prisoners of the past, and cannot use our legacy, dismal though it was, as an excuse for not doing better today.

As I prepared to come here, I was fascinated to read the timely piece by Anso Thom in the Cape Times on Monday, and further references to Minister Motsoaledi yesterday. These spoke about the disjunction between our relatively high spending per capita, and the levels of health our country enjoys – or, rather, fails to enjoy. Some of the problems we face are well known, certainly at the level of newspaper head-lines. We know about the high levels of HIV and AIDS, and of TB, in South and Southern Africa, and of the way the two are so often linked. We know of the problems of malaria. We also know of the problems of service delivery in hospitals and clinics. We know of the high level of maternal and infant mortality rates, and South Africa’s very poor record in pursuing the Millennium Development Goal to reduce this. Beyond our borders the challenges are often wider and greater – cholera in Mozambique, for example. My brother bishop in the southern part of Mozambique also commented that, tragically, traffic accidents ‘compete’ with disease when it comes to causing death and injury. Poverty also increases the ability of individuals to access care, and of governments to reach their people. This can be a significant problem in relation to family planning and the treatment of chronic conditions including epilepsy, as well as for ARV provision and TB medication.

But there are other ills of which we are perhaps less aware. I was shocked to learn recently that the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs acknowledges that in South Africa over 100 children may die daily from diarrhoeal diseases, largely a result of poor water and sewage provisions. Adequate sanitation can reduce the incidence of diarrhoeal diseases by up to 40%. Poverty can exacerbate health problems in so many other ways – not least in the lack of basic education about good health practices. We need to ask ourselves some hard questions: Why does HIV continue to spread at unacceptable levels? Why is TB, entirely treatable, so prevalent? Why are people so passive, defeatist, in the face of illness, often only going to clinics when they are seriously unwell? Why do so many of us follow life-style practices that increase the risk of us developing serious, even life-threatening, conditions including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer – when so many of these are largely unavoidable?

Monday’s Cape Times article was titled ‘Prevention is much better than cure’, and I am delighted that education for disease prevention is such a priority for the Health Minister. I hope I will have an opportunity to speak to him after his arrival to express appreciation for all he is doing to turn around the Health Department, and to focus energies and resources in areas that can make the biggest difference at the most basic levels of disease prevention and care. I also want to pay tribute to the excellent supporting work that was done, all too briefly, by his deputy, Dr Molefi Sefularo, who tragically died earlier this year. I hope that the Minister will urgently appoint a new deputy who can provide similar strong assistance in driving the work of the ministry forward.

But the health challenges of this country, and the other nations of Southern Africa are greater than any of us can face alone, and therefore we must all contribute what we can to alleviating the burden. Primary health care has to be the place to start ‘eating this elephant, bite by bite’. This means we must tackle disease prevention, health promotion, swift effective treatment, and longer term evaluation, rehabilitation, and, where necessary, palliative care, and support for the terminally ill and their families.

Process

In many of these areas, the church has much to offer. This brings me to my second theme of ‘Process’. When it comes to preventing disease and its spread, and promoting good health, one of the most important components is education. Here faith communities have remarkable potential. While we are generally no longer in the business of providing medical professionals, we nonetheless most certainly do have remarkable capacities for communication with a very high proportion of the population of our country. We have, so to speak, a ‘reach’ that governments and political parties might envy. We must be intentional in using it well.

For we need to recognise and acknowledge that we have not always been wise. For too long, churches and other faith communities have not played a positive role in relation to education on HIV and AIDS. For too long we fuelled stigma, and with it ignorance and denial, all of which contributed to the disease’s spread. But as we learn to speak more openly, more honestly, more constructively, about these diseases and the factors around them, so we can help society as a whole to deal with them in this way. Let’s face it, the faith communities are never comfortable talking about sex, but we have no option but to do so, realistically, and holistically, and help change wider attitudes about what is too often something of a taboo subject.

One good news story comes from Khayelitsha, where Anglicans set up church-based HIV and AIDS support groups. Initially, we found that those who came were choosing to attend a group far from their home – they didn’t want to be recognised and identified and become the subject of gossip and speculation within their own communities. But now attitudes have changed – not only because of changing church attitudes, (though this has certainly been significant); but also through such factors as almost all pregnant women knowing their status, and this being seen as ‘normal’. We now find that people are far more relaxed about attending a group in their own community, far more relaxed about testing and knowing their status.

Making this transition from being part of the problem to being part of the solution has required first of all a commitment to ensuring our clergy are well-educated in the facts. Educating clergy and church leaders can enable us to do more on other health issues, in everything from nutrition to basic hygiene. Problems of gender-based violence and abuse, and emotional and mental health support, are other areas where our formal teachings – on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays – must be well-informed. And while others may joke that clergy only work one day a week, we all know that there is a vast range of other activities within our parishes and congregations and communities, through which we can help educate and influence society.

Our communities can also provide effective support for good treatment compliance – people holding one another accountable for taking their medicines on time, and keeping up with their courses to the end of treatment. The persuasion of people-power is an area where we have vast resources at minimal cost.

We can also, as appropriate, partner with the Ministry in their formal education campaigns. Beyond that, while it is not our task to fulfil the Ministry’s responsibilities for them, there are surely many other ways we can support them in their aim of putting people first, the ‘Batho Pele’ initiative. Through our networks, our volunteers, our commitment to compassionate caring – and also through our physical presence in practically every settlement and community across our country – we have considerable capacity to act in constructive and cooperative partnership with those who have the skills and financial resources that we lack. Where necessary, for example, we can provide physical space for health professionals when they visit far-flung communities. Another example I might mention is the Siyafundisa Programme of the Anglican Church, where, in agreement with the government, we delivered US-funded peer education and life skills training to young people. I am sure that there are other examples that we will be able to share today and tomorrow.

Values

I have already touched indirectly on my third theme – the perspective on value, and values, that the faith communities can contribute within the health sector. This is perhaps where we have most to offer, as values, ethics, and the philosophical or moral context of what it means to be a healthy individual within a healthy community, are our ‘core business’. While Governments must uphold the ethos of Constitutions and the rights they guarantee to citizens – and in South Africa we are certainly blessed with having one of the best Constitutions in the world, when it comes to the rights of citizens – my belief is that it is civil society in its various forms, and particularly the faith communities, who bear the greatest responsibility for putting flesh on the bones, and giving shape, to the moral dimension of our societies.

For example, it is our care and concern for the whole human person, and for each individual as someone who ‘lives in relationship’ with their nearest and dearest as well as wider circle, that provides the context for health and well-being. We are the ones who can, and must, shape and support a prevalent mindset within our nation, so that we all operate automatically on the basis that medical treatment of physical maladies cannot be separated out from a wider concern for the person’s emotional and spiritual well-being.

As Christians, we root this in the belief that God created all humanity in his image; and that the second person of the eternal Trinity further dignified human existence by becoming incarnate in the man Jesus Christ. All people are intrinsically valuable in the eyes of God, intrinsically worthy of dignity and respect, no matter what their circumstances. It is well-documented that people generally respond more positively when they feel that they are respected and cared for in the whole of their being, on every level, in the attitudes of everyone from hospital receptionists through to medical staff.

Valuing also applies in other ways. We know that public sector budgets do not stretch to generous salaries. Nonetheless, faith communities can support a greater degree of respect and appreciation within the wider community for all those who work in this field; and, through this, help health workers from top to bottom feel a greater sense of value in the work they do – rather than feeling their work is to be evaluated purely in terms of financial reward. It is our desire that doctors, nurses, health professionals and all their support staff should find a deep degree of satisfaction through the difference they make to people’s lives; and should know themselves highly valued and appreciated within the wider community.

Promoting true values has another dimension, one that I am saddened that I have to mention – which is the need for the highest ethical behaviour within health management. There are far too many stories of corruption of one sort or another, particularly in relation to procurement of goods and services. (Of course these are not confined to the health sector.) It is the responsibility of the faith communities to give a clear, strong, lead in promoting an atmosphere of complete intolerance of corruption and malpractice of every sort. We must also give moral support and encouragement to the many within the public sector who do strive to uphold best practice and the highest ethical standards, and who, often at risk of their own jobs, are prepared to stand up against abuses. They deserve our wholehearted backing. We must look to ourselves also.

Caring for the whole person has other dimensions where the faith communities can extend the reach of the health care sector beyond what governments can provide. When I was 12 years old, my mother had TB, and spent 6 months in Rietfontein Hospital in Johannesburg. It was a very traumatic time for us, her children. Being part of a wider caring community is so vital in such circumstances – this is why church-based support groups and home care networks are so essential, and have such a significant impact where we run them. We must make our congregations aware that they need to be Christ’s compassionate eyes and ears in our communities, to ensure none in need are overlooked. A growing priority concern must be the identification of child-headed households, bringing them into contact also with social services who can provide help and support (and we can act in other ways in support of the Child Act). Sometimes a church person just going along as moral support to a clinic or government office, can make all the difference to an individual’s confidence in accessing the care they need and deserve.

We can also help ‘translate’ – in words, in practices – from the language of the professionals to those of local communities. For example, my sister, who worked in primary health care for 40 years, told me about how they had to walk sensitively alongside Traditional Healers, finding culturally appropriate ways for them to avoid reusing needles and razor-blades. We need to promote upholding best possible legal and ethical health practices in ways that have positive synergy with the lives of communities.

Let me mention a couple of particular concerns. One is that, rightly, governments seek to ensure consistent standards of care across countries. But the down-side can be that local initiatives are stifled. Worse, in some places, health services run by independent bodies, including the faith communities, are actually being closed down when they are not part of the uniform but limited, provisions that the government can supply.

There are also questions we must put to the business sector – even if they are not really part of our deliberations. But they too must consider values. Those industries with large work forces, and especially those with migrant labour, bear a heavy responsibility to be pro-active in promoting good health among their employees. I am glad that this is, at long last, beginning to be seen as increasingly normative. And business can go beyond this, and dare to consider the wider community from whom their workers are drawn – for we know that the average number of people supported by every person in employment can be very high.

We also need to encourage one another to think outside traditional boxes. In this respect, I am very glad that the Revd Paul Holley, will be speaking to us this morning on behalf of the World Health Organisation. He is director of the Anglican Health Network based in Geneva Switzerland. With the threat of aid cuts looming, they are looking at new models of healthcare funding. I hope he will share this with us.

And finally, of course, I must mention the care of the dying. As societies become increasingly urbanised, westernised, individualised, this becomes more and more of a taboo subject. The faith communities also have an ancient history to draw on, in this most challenging of areas – and our teaching can help people deal with the reality of human mortality, and face with honesty the last journey of life.

Conclusions

As I come to a close, I am glad to report that last week, at the Anglican Church in Southern Africa’s Synod, which we hold once every three years, tackling the challenge of health was one of 8 priority areas to which we committed ourselves in the decade ahead. Some of you who are here today were part of that debate and will help take our decisions forward in practical ways. It is my prayer that we will both learn from, and contribute to, the discussions of the next two days.

Finally, let me end with God – well, I am an Archbishop! – and with a word of encouragement. Though the challenges before us are vast, we know that God is on our side. It is his longing that all his children will find compassion, care, healing, and wholeness on the difficult journey of life. We can therefore be sure, that whenever we commit ourselves to these goals, it will be his joy and delight to support and strengthen us, to guide and encourage us, and to bless our endeavours, so that we may also be a channel of his blessing to others. May it indeed be so. Amen

A Call for an End to Public Service Strike

The public service strike is causing suffering to hospital patients, students and learners, and government and union negotiators should act urgently to end it, the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba, said today. [Thursday]

He also called for essential staff in institutions such as hospitals to return to work immediately.

“Our country is facing a huge crisis at this moment,” he said. “Striking essential public service employees and educators are, however unintentionally, causing much anguish and even physical suffering.”

Addressing striking workers, he added: “We understand your plight and your rights to seek justice in terms of fair and adequate salaries and other benefits, especially in the face of corruption by some government officials.

“However, the present strikes are creating suffering – for patients in hospitals, especially those who are seriously ill; for out-patients no longer able to receive much-needed medication; for students who are working hard to prepare for matric examinations and for learners who are trying to develop a culture of education and learning in order to improve their chances in the future.

“These strikes are doing a great deal of harm to our country – and this is something we cannot afford to continue.

“How do we look at our society and say, ‘let not your hearts be troubled,’ when patients needing high levels of care are without proper nursing staff and students are told they must provide for their own education?

“How do we hold the face of God, who is the God of justice, before all who are suffering now?

“We urge all essential service staff to return to your positions immediately. At the same time, we urge government ministers and to all others involved to negotiate an urgent resolution to this crippling action.”

To the Laos - To The People of God, July 2010

Dear People of God

Well, the World Cup is finally over! Spain has won, in a thrilling final, and the celebrations will, I am sure, continue for a long time.

We also have cause for continuing celebration. The first tournament on African soil was a resounding success, from almost every perspective, even if Bafana Bafana, and then the Black Stars of Ghana, did not progress as far as we had hoped. It was the a vivid affirmation of all that is best in our societies – people of every background uniting in love of the ‘beautiful game’; and proof, if it be needed, that with focus, commitment, hard work and perseverance, we can achieve whatever we set our hearts and minds to do!

So let me encourage you, especially if you feel a little ‘down’ that it is over, to spend a few moments reflecting on all that you found best in the tournament – and thank God. St Paul says ‘whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things’ (Phil 4:8). And so we should, whether because we overcame all the sceptics’ predictions and so have given a huge boost to potential increases in tourism and investment and economic upliftment; or because crime fell; or because for those of us in South Africa in particular there truly was a glorious sense of the whole nation coming together. We can sustain and build on all these to develop healthy societies for all our people. (I commend the Keep Flying the Flag campaign, as a visible sign of holding on to all we have achieved. See www.keepflying.co.za.)

There is also a challenge here – particularly to politicians and government services. If South Africa can deliver on the World Cup, the largest sporting event apart from the Olympics (and we may be bidding for that, next!), then really, any government ought to be able to deliver on health, education, housing, water and sanitation, and the other needs of its people. All it takes is focus, commitment, hard work and perseverance. Of course, we know that there are steep, high, mountains to climb in some sectors – but we should all be optimistic, because we now know what can be done, if we truly want to do it, and keep working at it.

Did you know that Danny Jordaan and his team first began planning for South Africa to bid for the World Cup 16 years ago, in 1994? I mention this, because we can be encouraged to think big, and think long term, in our planning. This is of course what we are doing in our ‘Vision 2020’ process at Provincial Synod at the end of September. Do keep our Synod preparations in your prayers.

But I also want individuals – young people in particular – to dare to think big, and think long term. Especially dare to think ‘on your knees’, asking God how he wants you to use your life so you can make the biggest possible God-shaped difference in the world! Helping build God’s kingdom, pursuing a life of eternal significance, is a far more profound measure of success than seeking money or status. Not everyone can be rich or famous, but everyone can become God’s valuable instrument. For some this may mean becoming teachers, nurses, doctors; or upholding the highest ethical values in some commercial walk of life. If you marry and have children, it certainly means being the best spouse, the best parent, you can be. And for some it will mean saying ‘Yes’ to God’s call to some form of full time Christian service – even the precious vocation of ordained ministry.

We should encourage all our young people to listen to God’s calling on their lives, and consider the possibility of ordination. This was one of the themes of the Anglican Students’ Fellowship Conference in Lesotho last month. It was my great joy to join them there. I’m also looking forward to the Annual Consultation of Diocesan Youth Councils in Swaziland in September. ‘Protection and Nurture of Children and Young People’ is one of the eight priority areas of our Vision, not only within the life of faith, but also through promoting their safety and well-being across wider society. We are also deliberately ensuring we take account of the perspective of young people in tackling our other priority areas, across everything from liturgical renewal to leadership development, health, and the environment.

The needs of young people have been in my mind in other ways recently. Last month I participated in the hand-over to the Governing Body and Department of Education of Mzamowethu pre-primary school, in Mzam’omhle township, which had been built with the support of St Martin’s in Gonubie. We congratulate the community on this achievement! And last week, I joined the launch of an initiative of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Nelson Mandela Institute, and Equal Education (of which I am a patron) to promote reading and fully functioning libraries in all the public schools of South Africa, as a tribute to Madiba on his birthday. I hope all your churches have received my message encouraging you to become collection points for books that can be donated to local schools. If you haven’t seen it, you will find it on my blog at http://archbishop.anglicanchurchsa.org/.

If you have internet access, you can follow my latest news by ‘subscribing’ at the bottom of the web page. Then you will get an email whenever anything is posted, to keep you up to date. You can see there that I have had a busy few months, even though I have tried to be on holiday during July! I was privileged to give an address at a UN Africa Consultation on the Status of Jerusalem earlier this month – and was able to speak up for our Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters, whose voice is so often unheard. Do keep them in mind, as you ‘pray for the peace of Jerusalem’ (Ps 122:6). Last month I addressed the annual USPG conference about ‘Mission Realities for Southern African Anglicans’ and spoke about how our hugely diverse Province holds together ‘in Christ’, finding our unity ‘at the foot of the cross’. Do pray that the Anglican Communion may hold fast to Jesus as Lord and Saviour, as the source of both unity and truth. You can read the full texts of my speeches on the blog or the ACSA website.

This month, please pray especially for the Diocese of Mbhashe that will be inaugurated on 16 July; and for Archdeacon Daniel Kgomosotho and his family, as he is consecrated the new Bishop of Mpumalanga, on 24 July.

Yours in the Service of Christ

+Thabo Cape Town

Fires in Kennedy Road and Encouraging Lessons from the World Cup

The following Statement on the fires in Durban’s Kennedy Road Informal Settlement was issued on Monday 5 July 2010

‘My heart is very sore at the terrible scenes of devastation in Kennedy Road’ said Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, following the weekend’s massive fires which saw 2 dead and over 2000 left homeless. Addressing the wider needs of those in informal settlements, he added ‘yet the overwhelming success of the World Cup shows that with focus, commitment, hard work and perseverance, we can achieve our goals – we must confidently apply the same effort to service delivery promises.’

Writing to the Bishop of Natal, Rubin Philip, in whose Diocese lies the informal settlement, Dr Makgoba assured the Bishop and people of the Anglican Church in Southern Africa's prayerful support. 'Our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones, who have been injured, and who have lost homes and livelihoods. We hold them all in our prayers and in our love, and especially remember before God those who have died. May all in need hear the still small voice of God within the anguish and chaos they face, bringing comfort and strength in the days ahead. I encourage our churches and parishioners to offer what help they can, whether through prayer upholding all who have died, been injured or displaced, or providing practical assistance wherever possible.

At the same time, the Archbishop of Cape Town called for greater political commitment and practical action to address the legitimate needs of the inhabitants of Kennedy Road. ‘They have fought long and hard to achieve their rights, as citizens and residents of this country which now claims to be have one of the most advanced democratic systems in the world, and yet they are still left yearning for justice to be done in their life time. They have been ignored too often. I therefore urge the Province, under Dr Zweli Mkhize, and the Municipality to have the compassion that moves them to swift and effective action in responding to the housing needs of Abahlali, and their other longstanding concerns.’

Dr Makgoba went on to say ‘The continuing existence of settlements such as Kennedy Road are a permanent reminder that not all for which we struggled has yet been achieved. There is still so much to be done, especially in the provision of such basic services as water and sanitation as well as proper shelter. However, I want to encourage government at every level not to feel daunted by the great challenges that still remain in all areas of service delivery. The overwhelming success of the World Cup has shown that South Africans can achieve our goals, when we are focussed and committed, and prepared to work hard with perseverance. If we apply the same effort and confidence to service delivery, there is no doubt that we can deliver on our promises to our people. I shall certainly be praying for and contributing to this outcome, as best I can.’

Football – a Gift for Today and for Tomorrow

Issued on 22 June 2010

An Open Letter of Congratulations and Challenge from the Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town

To the FIFA World Cup LOC and Dr. Danny Jordaan; Dr. Irvin Khoza and SAFA; and Mr. Kaizer 'Chincha Guluva' Motaung

Football – a Gift for Today and for Tomorrow

I have been watching a lot of football! During the World Cup I have been struck by the young children who have accompanied the players onto the fields. Regardless of the time of day, regardless of the weather, they were there, delighted as they held the hands of great players and listened to the melodious and sometimes off tune national anthems. It was easy to see that they were enthralled by the experience.

The 2010 World Cup has been filled with great moments and a generous spirit, which these young people have exemplified. The World Cup is possibly the greatest and biggest global sporting event (after the Olympics) that any country can host, and it is here in South Africa. We have seen the excitement that soccer generates crosses all boundaries. I am proud to be a South African!

Yet being on a ‘high’ has its downsides too. My thoughts turn to a familiar event in the life of Jesus – his Transfiguration on the mountain top in the presence of three of his disciples. It is recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. In all three accounts, after an amazing experience of Jesus’ appearing to be transformed with the shining glory of God, Jesus reminds his disciples that they must leave that ‘mountain top’ experience and return to the ‘plains’ – the real, everyday world of their lives.

In South Africa, we are in the midst of our own ‘mountain top’ experience as we welcome the world to our nation and our continent. But we too need to start planning to come down from the mountain and back to the ‘plains’ of our everyday lives.

Our ’plains’ are full of challenges – many that we know all too well – and perhaps some new ones too. We know of the challenges of education, service delivery, health care, violence and the upcoming municipal elections. My wish and prayer for all of these are that they will be marked by absolute fairness, though politics has unfortunately come to be associated with 'unfair play'. I also hope that rumours of a new outbreak of xenophobic violence after the tournament will be proved wrong, hopelessly wrong. We are one humanity and we must learn to coexist.

Yet there is one other aspect of our return to the plains, on which I would like to put the main focus of this letter. I want to return to the young boys and girls who walked with smiles and pride as they entered the stadia, and to the question of the new generation of South Africans, whom they represent.

My question for our football champions and leaders is this: where will the youngsters who accompanied the great players into our stadia learn to play their much-loved sport? Where can the money for football development academies be found? I believe it is out there. Can our local as well as international companies assist in the formation of academies which will nurture and train these future stars?

Perhaps such a programme can be seen as a tithe for carbon emissions caused by all our preparations for the World Cup, and by the travelling of all visitors we have so warmly invited to our shores. FIFA and the soccer fraternity need to ‘green’ more local stadia and to begin in 2010 a soccer development institute especially for our under-resourced townships and rural villages.

Such an undertaking will best honour those smiles on the little ones who walked with today’s great players, and it will be a sustainable and lasting memory for 2010 World Cup over and above the spending the country has expended on this sporting code.

As we anticipate and enjoy the next games, may we ponder on these things.