The Concerned Young People of South Africa (CYPSA), an organisation of our young people, had the wonderful opportunity to reach out to schools and communities in Tshwane and surrounds from 21 – 30 August 2023. The team visited 80 schools in Hammanskraal, Atteridgeville and Tshwane over 7 days, as well as some prisons and a university.
We had the opportunity to explain the science behind pornography addiction to the university students, and the warning and message was well received.
The need amongst the youth is overwhelming. At some schools, many learners are on a high after break time due to smoking dagga, which makes learning and teaching in class extremely challenging. Many are burdened by social ills and come from broken or abusive homes.
At one of the schools where we were given the opportunity to address the learnes class by class, many made their lives right with God. They came forward spontaneously, sometimes groups of boys came together requesting help with their drug abuse. We warned against suicide, and encouraged the learners that there is hope in Christ. The learners expressed their gratitude at this message of hope.
The physical needs are also overwhelming. Learners undergo hunger at home, a situation which was further aggravated by the effects of COVID-19 lockdowns where breadwinners had lost their jobs. To curb malnutrition, some schools have been wonderfully proactive and started with vegetable garden projects at school to instill the love and develop the skill for growing own food.
It appears that the Life Orientation curriculum, especially for Grade 7, has done more harm than good to learners. The negative effects of this program could clearly be noticed from one grade to the next.
What worked particularly well was the testimonies of the ex-drug addicts who were part of our team. They could provide a message of hope to the learners, and many learners flocked around them after presentations. We were pleasantly surprised at the support we received from some teachers and even independent preachers of the gospel, who reiterated our message, supporting the message from Scripture. We could see how God is working among the various communities, bringing unity among Christians across church borders to work together.
We were grateful for the opportunity to reach out to the learners with a message of hope. 98% of these schools confirmed that they found our presentations to be educational and of great value to the learners. Many principals requested us to revisit them soon, stating that they need these outreaches.
Please pray for the youth across the country that they will return to Biblical-based values and to Christ. We could network with many ministers and preachers of the Gospel, and strengthen and encourage them in their tasks. We were again reminded of the verse, “Let the little children come unto Me and do not hinder them”. In schools where this is not taking place, drug abuse, rebellion, decline in morals, and ill-discipline are largely noticeable.
