South Africans weather all kinds of storms – but Banyana Banyana rekindled our dreams

A dark cloud has been hanging over SA for the past few years that saw South Africans showered with thunderstorms of load shedding, floods of inflation and hail of debt.

Not even a Woollies umbrella was sufficient for the stormy weather citizens have endured over the past few years because, in South Africa, things changed as quickly as the weather.

On to the next drama, we flip the channels to escape the Days of our Lives South Africa edition, featuring from tavern shooting sprees to price hikes – lest we forget about load shedding, our old friend. There seemed to be no mercy for us, who continued to struggle to live the dream.

What was the dream and why did it feel like a nightmare? For some, it was a dream to have water and electricity; others being employed. Some dreamed of buying property, while others waited decades for their promised RDP houses – and some slept on the streets.

Instead of the dream rainbow nation, the storms had left a path of destruction. Corruption has destructed growth in the country. We were paying for mistakes of the past, instead of growing and moving forward; not only in terms of apartheid, but also paying taxes to carry corrupt tender projects over the finish line.

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Around every corner was more bad news that not only affected our mental health, but also added to our financial burdens. The camel’s back was hanging on by a thread, looking back at Mandela month. By then, the South African dream resembled a nightmare with blood and bullets – until Banyana Banyana came and saved the day.

Just as we thought we had seen it all, we were reminded of the strong spirit of the South African dream. The same South African spirit we experienced during the 1995 Rugby World Cup win. The win was not only a win for our women’s soccer team, but also a win for South Africans across the spectrum. It took the girls five times – and the sixth time: laduma.

During the team’s celebration ceremony at the Union Buildings, hosted by President Cyril Ramaphosa, he said the win inspired the nation and every community. Never before has a South African women’s soccer team held such a big title. It not only shines the spotlight on Banyana Banyana as a women’s soccer team, but also reignited the spirit of the South African dream.

Now, girls growing up want to play soccer and dream of winning the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, as our golden girls did in Morocco. This means the South African dream is growing again and girls now have more to dream of than they did some time ago. They can become anything. They can achieve anything.

Today, we are so advanced that girls can become anything they want – and dream about. We have more opportunities to grow now than ever before. It may take a few attempts and a strong will to not give up on that dream, as Banyana Banyana taught us on their road to victory.

There were some struggles and obstacles but there were also more resources and opportunities to grow – because each challenge was an opportunity to be part of the solution. It also showed our golden girls’ resilience and perseverance to not give up. They went back and tried again and again.

This approach South Africans are familiar with. How else can we survive the wild life in this wild country? Things here hardly work the first time around, which probably explains why South Africans must be the most patient people in the world. We persevere – and that is the golden lining around the stormy clouds.