Some may call it a drop in the ocean, but small as the project and ideas might be, Pablo Lundall and Kyle McIntyre are certainly determined to make a dent rather than sit and watch with folded arms.
Lundall (26) and McIntyre (29) have embarked on a mission to improve the lot in the impoverished township of Alexandra through the development of critical thinkers to highlight, initiate debate and encourage solutions to address the socio-economic conditions that prevail in the community. This will be done through the establishment of the Educate Empower Learn (EEL) Media Centre in Illovo.
They have taken it upon themselves to do something in the hope it might one day snowball into something huge, as more and more people begin to realise, appreciate and reap the benefits of the seeds sown.
It takes courageous men and women with an idea and a burning desire to change the community, and this is what Pablo and Kyle are about to do, to change the face of Alexandra one social ill at a time.
For the change to work and take effect, it will take belief and a buy-in from those it is meant to salvage from the clutches of poverty and lead them to the promised land of milk and honey.
Alex residents, the youth and the not so youthful anymore, will have to embrace this idea and run with it to the promised land, which is a far cry from the slum that Alex is today or has come to be known.
It is not every day, especially in our politics, that you get people who sacrifice their all for the betterment of others. Our politics today is each man (and woman) for himself and God for us all.
It’s now politics of the stomach, where people in power seek to amass as much as they can from the public coffers as they don’t know what tomorrow holds – they may find themselves out of favour or out of power.
Gone are those days when Nelson Mandela and the Sobhukwes of this country gave up their freedom, family, friends and loved ones for a life behind bars in order to free us all from the chains of apartheid bondage.
Pablo and Kyle are doing the same, though on a much smaller scale than the Mandelas and the Sobhukwes, but they, too, have sacrificed their posh jobs and quality time with their family, friends and loved ones to work on this project and ensure its success.
