2 000 Northern Academy learners and Turn2God take a stand
A purposeful stand was taken against violence, when close to 2 000 learners from Northern Academy, along with members of Turn2God, gathered in prayer at the Flora Park Dam on Monday.
POLOKWANE – The vicinity around Flora Park Dam is known for criminality, and learners often gather here after school and on weekends. In an incident that rocked the city, the 28-year-old Thorisho Themane was recently assaulted near the dam, allegedly by a group of teenagers, and left for dead. He succumbed to his injuries in hospital, a few hours after a passing motorist saw him in the street, and took him to the Pietersburg Provincial Hospital.
Hanja Putter, a senior management team member of Northern Academy, said she has been wanting to get the Turn2God mission off the ground for a while, until recently.
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“After the death of this young man, I drove past the dam and something in me said I should give it another go. I spoke with the rest of the management team and from there, everything just fell into place. Apart from showing the school to turn back to God, we also wanted to show the children that we as adults, are turning back to God ourselves.”
During the gathering, learners and community leaders led a solemn event, bowing their heads and praying for schools across the city to once again find their solace in God.
Rev Jaco Putter, also from Turn2God, told Bonus the school decided to stand up against violence: “They want to say that enough is enough. They are tired of violence, murder and manslaughter”.
Various religious leaders prayed during the event. Hanja confirmed that boards proclaiming the Turn2God mission, will be put up around the school as well as the college.
Chaplain John Mokoena represented the police and prayed not only for Polokwane but also for Limpopo and South Africa to again turn to God.
“They plan to roll out the mission in other schools as well. Northern Academy was just the start. The initiative is to fight crime in an orderly manner. We are praying for safe learning at schools and for learners to speak out if they know about crimes being committed,” he said.
During the event, learners could also pledge to take a stand against gangsterism, drugs, violence and bullying.
