By: Justin Foxton –Here at SA Good News we were hugely inspired by President Ramaphosa when he quoted from Hugh Masekela’s song Thuma Mina (Send Me) in his State of the Nation address. Just as a reminder, here is the quote he used:
“I wanna be there when the people start to turn it around
When they triumph over poverty
I wanna be there when the people win the battle against AIDS. I wanna lend a hand
I wanna be there for the alcoholic. I wanna be there for the drug addict
I wanna be there for the victims of violence and abuse. I wanna lend a hand
Send me.”
For many years now, we have lent a hand by providing an alternative narrative to South Africa’s negative, often inaccurate and one-sided public discourse. This alternative narrative inspires tens of thousands of people around the world daily. But when our President quoted these words, we decided we would use the SA Good News platform to do even more; to empower ourselves and our readers to lend a hand.
The reality is that many of us want to do something, but we often just don’t know what to do. So, in partnership with Justin Foxton of the Peace Agency, the Democracy Development Program (DDP) and the Atom Foundation, we will be bringing you a new monthly feature called Thuma Mina – Send Me. This will be a toolkit of simple ideas of how readers can lend a hand. Straight off the bat let us say that you won’t need to stop working and begin an NGO! The ideas will be do-able for all. Also, we acknowledge that most readers are pressed for time and that with ever increasing demands on our budget, a lot of us have limited resources. This feature will take all of that into account.
As this is our first instalment we say only this: The above words of Hugh Masekela go beyond active citizenry or a call to action. They speak to purpose; a higher calling in all of us regardless of our religious beliefs. We invite you to spend time with these words; consider making them a part of your vision; your reason for being if you like. This may be as an individual, or with a group; at home or at work. By doing this, you will move the exercise of “being sent” or “lending a hand” from head to heart. See also (https://www.sagoodnews.co.za/thuma-mina-send/).
We also invite you to participate in the creation of this feature. Please mail us on justin@peaceagency.org.za and share your ideas and stories.
Go to http://www.peaceagency.org.za/ for more articles like this.