Heritage Day at Novensi Elderly Club highlights unity and cultural pride
The Novensi Elderly Club hosted a vibrant Heritage Day celebration to honour South Africa’s diverse cultures and encourage unity among all community members.
Various attendees of the Heritage Day celebration held by Novensi Elderly Club emphasised that Heritage Day represents solidarity among different ethnic groups.
The Heritage Day celebration ceremony was held at Full Gospel Church in Vosloorus on September 24.
The coordinator of Novensi Club, Johannah Malele (64), said they hosted the initiative to celebrate the different cultures and traditions in South Africa.
“Today, we want people from all walks of life to be proud of their cultures and traditions. We want people to know their roots.
“Our cultural and traditional customs are very important to us as people, because they keep us principled and respectful,” expressed Malele.
The chairperson of Novensi Elderly Club, Vusi Banda (62), urged people to be diverse and learn from each other.
“Through this celebration, we want people to value their identity. We are encouraging people to uphold the spirit of Ubuntu.
“Ubuntu is a cornerstone of unity.”
The attendee of the celebration, Maria Ntuli (69), said she enjoyed the celebration because she learned a lot about the rich cultures and traditions.
“It’s important for us to uphold our cultural and traditional values and customs, because they help us to be self-aware and treat each other with kindness.
“There are cultural and traditional values that we have forgotten as people, and such initiatives help us remember those values and to reconnect with our roots,” Ntuli shared.
Gerald Motsene, a trainer at Novenzi Elderly Club, emphasised the importance of being knowledgeable about culture.
“Respect, love, and humility are the values that keep us united as a people, and most people have disregarded those qualities,” Motsene said.
Nomvuyo Langa (63), the secretary of Novensi Elderly Club, reiterated that they are celebrating Heritage Day to embrace their culture and traditions.
“Heritage Day represents unity amongst us as people. We need to follow suit in the late Nelson Mandela’s teachings of the spirit of unity.
“Mandela used to preach the message of unity, saying that if people are united, they can achieve a lot,” said Langa.
