Lately I have been feeling concerned about the crime rate, violence and many other challenges that we are facing in Merafong community. I don’t know many people in my community who are happy and not much is being done to cure social ills. My biggest concern at the moment is the children who are exposed to- and have to grow up in this kind of environment. There is no recreational or sports facilities. The young ones grow bored and some of them turn to substance abuse and crime to escape their circumstances. Every single person has a different way of dealing with their problems, but we all seem to have one thing in common: We all want to see change. We all want life to improve, but…not one of us are willing to take the first step in the right direction. We lack ambition, we lack pride and we lack initiative. It is time that we realise: WE NEED TO BE THE CHANGE WE WANT TO
SEE IN SOCIETY. Once we pick ourselves up, start taking responsibility and stop doing good deeds in the name of fame or personal agendas, we
might be able to save ourselves. I predict that this will lead to people from far places recognising that our town could be a gold mine for opportunity.
We need to start with finding ways to serve our community. Young people must use their talents to shape the community for the better and the community must support young people’s initiatives. We need to nurture our young and our culture. Only if we work together we will be alive to witness change one day. It is a hard truth to accept but the days when we were able to look to our government for support are over. I think we have seen enough to have realised this by now. We must also begin to shape ourselves socially and develop new ways of creating employment instead of looking towards the mine industry to save us. Sit down and ponder on new ideas. Instead of chasing money, find ways in which you can sustain both yourself and your community. Do not wait for opportunity to knock on your door…go and create it yourself!
