The Community Strikes Back

http://www.thestar.co.za/?fSectionId=3268&fArticleId=vn20100823053032530C568133&fFeed=sanews

Yup, we are still talking about the strikes. But this time something positive has come out of government inefficiencies. The community is pulling together. The principle of Ubuntu is not lost.

I’m not sure if this has happened before, I don’t remember following the last strike so closely, but thousands of volunteers have given up their time to assist in hospitals while permanent staff is on strike. Volunteers are feeding patients, making beds, cleaning in the kitchen. It truly makes me very happy to see that South Africans have not given up. We are not ready to let go of all that is good in our country. We are not ready to watch it fail. This just proves that there is a new spirit in this country, attitudes have changed. People have stopped moaning and have started doing something. Instead of griping about the ‘state of our nation’ we are turning South Africa into the kind of place you can be proud of. The only thing I am ashamed of is that I was not one of these volunteers.

The change in attitudes may partly be related to the World Cup and the amazing sense of togetherness and patriotism we felt. It may also be because of this:
http://www.leadsa.co.za/

Lead SA is the most extraordinary initiative. Not extraordinary in what it asks of us, extraordinary in that it’s working. It calls South Africans to take action. It asks us to remember what it is like to care for others. What it is like to respect each other. What it is like to live in a great nation. It asks us to make that change. Download the call to action and join them on Facebook. This initiative could change South Africa forever. Make sure you’re a part of it.