South African Adventists March for Peace in Johannesburg

Spectrum Website
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A crowd of an estimated 1,000 Seventh-day Adventists marched through the streets of Johannesburg, South Africa over the weekend to demonstrate against waves of violent crime in suburbs of Hilbrow, Berea and Yeoville. Voice of America (VOA) reported that murders, muggings, robberies, shootings, drug abuse, and the killing of police officers nationwide have risen dramatically, and the Adventist Church in the region marched for peace and divine intervention amid the surge in violence.

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://spectrummagazine.org/article/2015/09/08/south-african-adventists-march-peace-johannesburg
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What can one say. The situation in South Africa is dire. Pray for them and blessings to those that marched in this event.

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South African Adventists March for Peace in Johannesburg
8 September 2015 | Spectrum
A crowd of an estimated 1,000 Seventh-day Adventists marched through the streets of Johannesburg, South Africa over the weekend to demonstrate against waves of violent crime in suburbs of Hilbrow, Berea and Yeoville”

There is substantial goodwill among the people of South Africa. Free debate is tolerated, many citizens now have access to basic services and despite the lack of skills, there are many talented people who are committed to making the country a better place for all. South Africa has come a long way since 1994 and there are many positive factors that can be highlighted.

In spite of this emerging reality, South Africa remains a divided society. The tough problems the lie ahead for South African’s are:

  1. Too few South Africans in work
  2. The quality of school education for most black people is sub standard
  3. Poorly located and inadequate infrastructure limits social inclusion and faster economic growth
  4. Spatial challenges continue to marginalize the poor
  5. The ailing public health system confronts a massive disease burden
  6. The performance of the public service is uneven
  7. Corruption undermines state legitimacy and service delivery

It is one thing to lament these though, another to fix them. Without doubt, the biggest obstacle to achieving many of these is a lack of hope lack, precipitated by a lack of real commitment to invest in human development.

Adventists have been a big part of the success stories of South Africa. More needs to be done by the Adventist church to highlight role models in all sectors of society so to give our youth hope. Education specifically designed to tackle real problems (1-7 above) is urgently needed in order to make a difference in all sectors.

The demonstration cited in this informative article is a good beginning, but it is only a beginning.

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