God bless Africa, Guide our leaders, Guard her children, And give her peace. Amen - Fr Trevor Huddleston
On this day in 1963, 32 Heads of sovereign African States met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to sign the Charter creating Africa’s first post-independence continental institution, The Organisation of African Unity (OAU).
The Heads of State penned these words in the OAU Charter in 1963: “Convinced that it is the inalienable right of all people to control their own destiny,
Conscious of the fact that freedom, equality, justice and dignity are essential objectives for the achievement of the legitimate aspirations of the African peoples,
Inspired by a common determination to promote understanding among our peoples and cooperation among our states in response to the aspirations of our peoples for brotherhood and solidarity, in a larger unity transcending ethnic and national differences,”
These words represented an Africa that was to be united in building its future. An Africa united in challenges and achievements. An Africa that would gift its children with freedom from colonial baggage.
We have fought and won many battles since that day: civil wars, entrenching the rights of women, disarmament of child soldiers and preserving the natural wildlife which is our continent’s gift. With each battle – from the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace to the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa, to the Tahrir Square in Egypt – the continent as a whole has emerged stronger.
May we teach the boys and girls of St John’s College the best human lesson there is that loving and supporting our neighbours is always an essential service.
Today we celebrate Africa Day as a commitment to building a strong, just and inspired continent with a shared destiny for all African peoples. It is a declaration of freedom. We celebrate Africa Day to mark our determination in ever-carving and shaping the Africa of our dreams on our terms. An Africa within us, from which we can never be exiled.
Our country, our continent and the entire human family is currently facing a profound challenge, one which has thrown into stark relief the divisions of privilege in South Africa and made clearer to us the inequalities within our society. In facing this challenge, how do we choose a larger unity that transcends the constructs that divide us?
I hope that in our different spaces of work and influence we will support and reach out to those least sheltered to weather the storm. I hope we will choose just and empathetic recovery strategies even if they may demand more of us, I hope we will choose to share even as we negotiate great loss.
May we teach the boys and girls of St John’s College the best human lesson there is that loving and supporting our neighbours is always an essential service.
In a quiet moment, may each of us echo the anthem and the prayer Nkosi Sikelel’iAfrika!
Happy Africa Day!
