By Selenathi Botha
What a joyful and inspiring way to start the 2024 academic year – with prayer. An opening prayer was recently held in Makhanda to mark the start of the new academic year. Organisers hoped to carry the momentum of the 2023 Eastern Cape matric class into the new year. The class of 2023 increased its pass rate to more than 80%, making it one of the most progressed provinces in years, a remarkable achievement considering the lacklustre performance of the province in years gone by.
The Sophumelela Youth Development Programme facilitated the opening prayer through a local secondary school, Khutliso Daniels. Founded by Sophumelela Ketelo, the programme was registered on 28 November 2017 and started operating in January 2018. It aims to deal with the psychosocial challenges young people face. The organisers said the 2024 Academic Year Opening Prayer was a success, adding that the invited schools helped make the event heartwarming.
The singing of the South African national anthem to open the event, led by programme director Lonwabo Sandi, added to the prestige of the gathering. Prayer and soothing choral music had the children motivated throughout the programme.
Ketelo later read the school’s pledge.
He said: “We want commitment as the organisation in the community. We acknowledge the results of 2023, and I believe that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to make sure that the schools are not below the 2023 results.” Ketelo also mentioned that it is time for schools to invite God in their new journey.
He continued: “We are dedicating ourselves as the organisation, dedicating schools to the creator. We are calling upon the Christian fraternity to say that we need to go back to basics. The majority of us grew up attending assembly on a daily basis, but now, in other schools, they don’t even go to the assembly while some only attend for two days.” He added that several schools faced the challenge of evil spirits just before exam time. “So, as the Sophumelela Youth Development Programme, we decided to invite God while it is still early to protect us in the academic year that we are entering.”
Reverend C Kepe, who opened the event with a prayer, also shared her thoughts. “The programme has really touched me. Seeing the youth astray from God, this programme made me think deeply. What I have noticed is that the schools only go to the assembly part-time – on Mondays and Fridays, which makes the children doubt that there is God. This has to change.”
Kepe made a call to members of the clergy to visit schools regularly and have RCL classes and teachers to teach schoolchildren about God.
