Throughout the course of time, South
Africans have always proved to be a people that took care of its own, and
also one that is active in addressing issues that threaten the status of their
freedom, be it social or economic freedom. However the current state of affairs
seems to be one that has drifted away from this ideal, an ideal to which the humanistic eminence
of this country can be attributed.
The country’s domestic struggles have
merely shifted from political to economic struggle; pandemic struggle (the
fight against HIV/Aids); and social struggle (in terms of moving away from 3rd
world status). In the past 15 years the country has seen the emergence of
numerous Non-Profit organisations that aim at bringing to the fore, social development.
These Non-profit bodies vary from; lobby groups that campaign for the
amendment of government policies that exploit the country’s workforce, to organizations
that raise funds for the infrastructural development of schools and other
community facilities such as clinics and recreational land sites, and lastly
there are Non-Profit and Non-governmental organisations(NGO) that are responsible
for creating programs that aim at empowering and equipping South
African youth for the future, mostly youth that come from disadvantaged
backgrounds.
Initiatives such as the
Lead SA campaign challenges ordinary South Africans to be active in “being the
change they want to see” or rather taking part in the change they want to see happening both in their communities and in their lives. Within 3
years of the campaign’s existence it has managed to achieve a 100% success
rate. The main area of focus for the Lead SA campaign is Leadership, Education, the square kilometre array(SKA) and Sport. What is of interest about this particular NPO is that it is established on the belief that "Ordinary citizens have the passion and resilience to deal with issues that affect them personally", and Lead SA merely assumes the role of serving as platform that assists in mobilising support for initiatives that can help eradicate these issues. "So it would seem that the main ingredient behind the Lead SA campaign's consistent success lies much on the uniting of ordinary citizens that work hand in hand to achieve change".
