Working towards a better tomorrow
“How can we destroy libraries, schools, roads, clinics, government offices, stay away from classes and sincerely believe we are helping correct any mistake? How do we correct mistakes by making the situation worse?”
Former KZN Premier and South African Ambassador in Egypt, Dr Frank Mdlalose was in Newcastle last Friday to introduce the Dr F.T. Mdlalose Foundation, which was officially launched in Durban in August.
Meeting with a handful of teachers and religious leaders at Newcastle Club, Dr Mdlalose said while South Africa was not the only the country affected by poverty, crime, violence, unemployment and corruption, it was up to society as a whole to help solve these problems.
“We cannot fold our hands together and decry the anomalies that beset us without doing something. There is urgent need to exercise our leadership skills and responsibilities. This country can rightly boast of so many people who have different talents to enable our communities to succeed in maximising benefits from our myriad of natural human resources,” Dr Mdlalose claimed.
Looking at the past, Dr Mdlalose there was not sufficient effort made to debrief people after the official demise of apartheid. However, he explained that people had not changed their strategies in dealing with problems when making demands, an issue which needed to be addressed.
“How can we destroy libraries, schools, roads, clinics, government offices, stay away from classes and sincerely believe we are helping correct any mistake? How do we correct mistakes by making the situation worse?” he asked.
Through the foundation, Dr Mdlalose explained that the way forward was to expose young people and adults to positive leadership.
Through seminars, workshops and mentoring programmes, Dr Mdlalose hoped to ensure the country would heal and find a way to move forward.
Government employees in managerial positions, educators, traditional healers, religious leaders and women in leadership roles would be targeted to become actively involved in the foundation.
“At the end of our earthly journey, people won’t be so impressed by what we did. They will appreciate what we did which positively impacted the lives of
other people. However, they will be even more concerned what we did not do. They will want to know what proactive strategies we came up when things went hullabaloo and we stood petrified. Our country needs people who can act, react and innovate changes. We did it against apartheid and we must do it to go forward. We must do it to liberate ourselves from poverty, dependence or self pity,” concluded Dr Mdlalose.
Currently, those assisting in the Dr F.T. Mdlalose Foundation are doing so on a voluntary basis.
For further information on how to join the ranks of the foundation, the organisation can be contacted on info@mdlalosefoundation.org or on 081 323 7879.
