Heritage Day celebration creates oneness
ALEXANDRA - The 2015 heritage day celebrations was a moment for citizens to reflect and embrace their oneness as Africans and, to use their cultural diversity to enrich Ubuntu [oneness] principles as an African way of life.
The 2015 Heritage Day celebration was an opportunity for citizens to reflect and embrace their oneness as Africans and to use their cultural diversity to enrich ubuntu (oneness) principles in an African way.
This was part of the message delivered by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa in Limpopo when commemorating 24 September. Ramaphosa implored citizens to act civilly towards each other, to learn and understand other cultures, attempt to speak each other’s language and revel in the values gained from knowing one another better.
Residents gathered at Thusong Youth Centre on 12th Avenue, Alexandra, after marching from the Heritage Centre on 7th Avenue through the streets of the township inviting residents to join the celebration.
The occasion included dialogues on different topical issues about African unity, punctuated by song and traditional dance, and exposed residents to different African cuisine and attire.
Mmapelle Beea of non-profit organisation Bontle Bo Africa, one of the event organisers, said the activities were a bid to spur residents to recapture their love for each other. “It was an educational platform to encourage residents to promote their similarities, irrespective of origin, and to reduce self-hate [hate of other Africans] created among Africans by external forces. It’s an opportunity to spur residents to uphold ubuntu within the family, with neighbours and in the community so they can all take charge of instilling respect and discipline within the family and between children and the elderly.”
This she said would assist in curbing crime, drug abuse and teenage pregnancy if families felt they all had a responsibility to care for each other and their children.
Mmapelle added that they want to run programmes for children and the youth on ubuntu to inculcate in them the spirit of decency. “This will entail us going to places where they congregate, including taverns and sporting venues. To do so, we will need partnerships for resources, in particular from the Department of Arts and Culture,” she concluded.
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