I then shared the story of “give a man a fish, he eats for a day; teach a man to fish…” Their eyes
lit up with sparks when they learned that by teaching, they could help others eat for a lifetime.
I committed to coordinating known leaders from the community to train the youths in
permaculture, a sustainable gardening technique which requires minimal resources. Its benefits
include food security, income generation, and household cost reduction. When I attended a
leadership forum this month with two world renowned development pioneers, I learned that the
facilitators trained a group of people one week prior in permaculture; coincidentally, the trainees
are from my region in Limpopo. A Divine Plan at Work.
The ladies of my Takalani Empowerment Project
This is a culture where the youth is scolded and often beaten by educators and family members.
Corporal punishment is now illegal in South Africa, but remains ubiquitous in schools throughout
the country. For those of you who believe, “Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child,” I am talking about
beatings with pipes, hoses, and sticks, and being grabbed and twisted by body parts for offenses
such as not being able to read. And then we wonder why South Africa is perhaps the most
violent country in the world which is not at war. Positive reinforcement is such a foreign concept
that educators at conferences and even the majority of callers to news radio programs will beg,
“If we don’t beat them, how will we control them?”
I’m not saying I have all the answers, but my Siyabonga persists at excelling in his academic
performance, participation, and enthusiasm since the one day I saw him drawing in class as I
lectured. Most teachers would have punished him-some by extreme measures. Instead, I praised
his drawing talent. The young man doesn’t have a mother or father at home to take an interest in
him or pat him on the back. The fact that I noticed him, and acknowledged his worth created a