SOCIALS

67 Minutes – A lifetime by Kananelo Ntoka

A Saturday morning much like the one before, it is a few minutes after 10am, the ordinary buzz of the city is already alive in the air, a sound distinct to the residents. The NYAOPE team had been informed to meet with GCCSA group to discuss the activities that were to take place that day, for the 67 minutes for Nelson Mandela initiative, under the request of the GCCSA.

After meeting with GCCSA, it was decided that both parties involved would take part in cleaning up Khumalo Street as well as the Thokoza memorial – aimed at honouring the fallen and missing heroes and victims of the post-Apartheid era, 1994-1999, in Thokoza. The task began by cleaning the local gas station turned chill spot for the youth. Making our way to the Thokoza memorial, situated right beside the Sam Ntuli stadium, I took the time to notice the reactions of the bystanders and commuters who seemed to be taken by the few individuals who took the time to pick up dirt. I realised how big a difference and impact a few hands could have on the community. For sixty seven minutes of this ordinary morning the hot topic was not who was stabbed the night before, the latest teenager to terminate a pregnancy or who posted nudes on twitter, but that of a few individuals who took the time to make a small but noticeable difference.

This sparked thoughts in my mind, I started to form an idea that just maybe, Thokoza was not only home to thugs and large street bashes, just maybe this city had finally birthed a generation who would grow up to clean the city and correct the mistakes of the score before. Just maybe, my generation could restore the pride of where we were born and raised and make the environment that much more welcoming and less dangerous for next generation. After completing our task, we headed back to the Sam Ntuli Stadium where the GCCSA were to host a ceremony showcasing some of the local talent and hand out some basic necessity hampers to the needy.

While the young group performed in front of me, I felt chills down my spine, the liquor in my blood stream from the night before began to sober up and I saw, not only the spectacular performance they had put on but what could and should be. Growing up in a post-Apartheid era Thokoza where the changes only began much later than the rest of the country, I was surrounded by a lack of faith, bitterness and disregard for the value of the future. The only people who really believed in one’s dreams were parents and close family.

But in those 67 minutes – I saw a lifetime which had discarded my city’s dangerous reputation and built a legacy for stars, dreamers and future leaders. In those 67 minutes, I will forever find hope.