Written by a 16 year old South African woman
My South Africa is the family who took a refugee into their home as he had no place to stay. The black children who put change into a poor white man’s tin. It is the teachers who teach us every day to build a better future for us. It is the student who takes on three jobs, during the evenings and on weekends, to find ways of paying for his university studies.
My South Africa is the man who went to prison for 27 years and forgave all his captives. The possibility that ‘one’ can make a difference and influence others. The place where children have to walk many kilometres to get to school every day and they pass well enough to go to university.
My South Africa is the man who has nothing, but he donates over R200 to the Habitat for Humanity fundraiser to help others in need. It is the girl who donated all her birthday presents to an orphanage for others to enjoy. The boy who got paralysed in a rugby match and the community raises money for him to get a wheel chair.
My South Africa is fun-runs that are held to raise money for breast cancer. It is the women who have HIV/AIDS who make bracelets to raise money to buy mosquito nets for children in Africa to prevent Malaria.
My South Africa is the people that live in it. We might see them as normal or insignificant. But these people are remarkable. The things they do might be small, but these small things make South Africa what it is.
So my South Africa is not horrible, violent, corrupt or full of crime like it is portrayed in the media. My South Africa is beautiful, unique and special. It is the place where I grew up and the place that I shall grow up in. My South Africa is my home and my future. I am proudly South African!
This article makes me proud to be South African! Yes, we have a lot of violence, crime, unemployment and poverty. But we are also a beautiful nation with beautiful people who make us proud!!
Well said. I agree, but sadly I have to include the crime and violence in My South Africa.
Thank you for opening our eyes and teaching us to focus on the beauty and not the crime and violence! South Africa is my country and I wouldn’t want to stay anywhere else!!
Beautifully written, and deeply inspirational. Written with so much passion. To know that the country we love is in the hands of insightful and compassionate youth, gives a sense of hope.
Thank you
I love this – Yes, this country is not without it’s challenges, but it is still beautiful and it’s beauty often lies in the ordinary, the things we take for granted because that is the way we do things. The more of us that continue to see the positive and address the negative, the stronger we will become, both as individuals and as a nation.
Yes we need these comments from the youth who see our South Africa in a another aspect . We need not focus on the negative . The little we do is loved by all . On Saturday i went out to complete my tax returns people were negative , i told all of the to think of those who cannot do it on time, some were in the line and uttering ONLINE do they really care for the future generations if we all embrace online will there be jobs for the youth.