Thoughts on Different Societal Issues

A raging debate which has been doing the rounds lately (in South Africa) revolves around the issue of corporal punishment and discipline amongst high school learners. In the past few weeks there has been a case of a learner who attacked a teacher, a gang from a school who attacked a rival school gang and also of a pupil who sliced the ear of another learner. Many reasons have been proffered as to potential causes of such delinquent behaviour amongst the learners. The removal of corporal punishment from the schooling system has been held up by some as being the harbinger of such behaviour- laying the blame on government. Teachers who have been involved in actions which have led them to a place of losing moral authority to address learner ill-discipline, has been given as another reason.  Others have been saying the lack of parental/guardian involvement in instilling discipline in their children is to blame. I believe all these different viewpoints all have a contr...

In this day and age there are so many technological platforms which if utilised properly can benefit us immensely.  One of the platforms I have found as the most inder utilised especially amongst the younger generation is LinkedIn.  LinkedIn is to the professional world what Facebook is to the social world. On Facebook one has a profile which they use to get others to know about themselves.  Although some people tend to create an altar-ego/ pseudo (false) persona on Facebook, generally- out of the abundance of the heart the fingers type.   LinkedIn is a platform where you can place your profile for others to see. This is basically an online curriculum vitae (CV). Many people use the abbreviation CV without knowing that it is Latin for 'story of my life'.  When you put up a profile on LinkedIn it provides the story of aspects of  your life i.e. youryour qualifications and where you obtained them, the work experience you have, sk...

Not everyone has the good fortune to attend a university or other tertiary institution. To then land a job and start earning an income is another great achievement, and a privilege many don’t get to experience. Moving from barely making it from month to month on a low allowance to receiving a monthly pay cheque is a huge jump and nothing short of a culture shock. Suddenly, it seems like you can get all those things you used to want and could never afford. Therein lies a trap which many have fallen into. There is a general misconception among the youth that once you have finished varsity and have a job, you have to ‘show people’ that you are now working. The most obvious channels for doing this are getting a car, staying in a fancy place and a wardrobe overhaul. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing out of place with any of these - the problem mostly lies with why and how you go about doing it. Below are some financial matters you must be aware of and take into considerati...

Many times we pray for God to bless us and He does, the only problem is our focus. We think He will make money suddenly appear in our bank account or someone will drop a bag on our lap or some other 'rub the bottle and out pops a genie to pander to your every whim and fancy'. He blesses us (blessing = empowerment to prosper) by giving ideas, connections, experiences etc with which we can establish sustainable ventures. The important thing is to wake up from our slumber and be aware of these when they come up in front of us. God creates systems and these keep replicating themselves ie a tree has seeds which contains other trees which contain seeds...etc. Ideas just like babies have the potential to reproduce. It's interesting that when a foetus is developing in its mother's womb it gets to develop the sperm (for boy) and ovum (for girl). By the time the baby (idea) is born there are many other potential babies inside. When God gives you an id...

In society there is a system in place which is used to ensure that people take care of their offspring. This system which was established functions via the courts of law- 'The maintennance court.' When a person absconds their responsibility to take care of their offspring, the maintenance court will come after them. In the same way, you need to take care of your babies (ideas).  This reminds me about the parable of the talents. The 3rd guy decided to bury the 'baby' he had been given instead of nurturing it like the others did with their 'babies.' The guy ended up losing what he had and it was given to someone else. When one is not responsible for their children the state can sanction for your children to be taken care by others. If you don't take care of your ideas, someone else will seize the opportunity to develop them.  How many times have you seen, heard or read something someone has done and you thought...that's my idea!!! Well, ...

Last week during a work field trip at a health facility in the Eastern Cape I observed something from which I drew some important lessons. There was a young mother who had come with her new born baby to receive some services from the clinic. She was being attended to by a male nurse and I saw them walking toward the waiting area where other mothers were sitting. Though I couldn’t hear their conversation their actions gave the story of what was taking place. The nurse spoke to one of the (older/more experienced) mothers to illustrate how to hold the baby in a way which ensured it could suckle properly. The young mother was told to hand over her baby to the older mother so she could hold the child. As she was doing so the nurse was explaining and pointing out the ideal cradling position and tilt of the head. He would then check with the young mother if she was taking note of the instruction. After observing all this, there were some key lessons which stood out for me which I de...

Many times we hear people in the street asking for change. Most times we reckon they are asking for money, of which in most instances they are. How about changing our understanding of the change being asked for.What if it's change in treatment. In April 2013 I read an article about a police man in New York who was photographed by a tourist giving a BRAND NEW pair of winter boots and socks to a destitute man on the street, on a cold winter night. It turns out the policeman got the boots at $75 (discounted from $100 by the shopkeeper)- you read it correctly 75 US dollars; R675 using exchange rate of $1:R9. One day at the gate called Beautiful at the temple there was a crippled beggar who saw some disciples entering the temple and 'asked for change'. He actually got CHANGE he hadn't bargained for. "Silver and gold we don't have, BUT in the name of Jesus rise up and walk." How's that for CHANGE. Many people had passed by him that day an...