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Another world is possible – children and youth Print E-mail
Written by don Laszlo Karpati   
Friday, 17 August 2007
South Africa, like many other countries of the so-called developing world is marked by the rapid and intensive urbanization.

City life offers many opportunities for learning, earning and entertainment. One meets there modernity, technology, good infrastructure, services and investment. People are flocking to the city because of their hope for employment.

Having arrived to a big city one wakes up quickly facing inequality, poverty and suffering. For the poor there is no stable source of income. Families are broken, men are absent and women have to take all the responsibility for the maintenance of the family.

Sometimes the living conditions are subhuman, there is no assured roof, cost of living is very high, the quality and access to public transport, health and education is very poor. People suffer from violence too and also from the loss of belonging.

One of the features of the cities is the huge young population. Many of the youth have to pay hard for the “benefits” of urban life. They have to support their families through their own employment. They have to take on adult roles. Many of them drop-out of school to become a life-long unskilled labourer.

There is an other striking feature: UNICEF estimated about 2.5 million SA children under 18 had lost at least on parent due to any cause, with about 450 thousand having lost both parents. UNICEF said orphans often lost out on schooling, food and clothing. They may suffer from anxiety, depression and abuse and they had a higher risk of exposure to HIV. (Mail & Guardian Online, 18/01/2007)

Many of the children and youth end up on the street of the SA big cities. There, apart form their constant suffering, they become subjects of moral judgment as they do not behave in a way as society expects the children to behave. They also become symbols of social exclusion.

Looking at these features any of us should ask: “is another world possible”? Because we cannot accept social exclusion of any kind and because as Christians we want to promote the Lord’s justice and peace our answer must be affirmative. Yes, “another world is possible”, or even we can go further: “only another world is possible”.

We realize that not these children and young people or their families nut the culture and the whole society in which we live together needs help and healing. We need to educate the public making them aware of the problem and possible solution. We know that committed faith makes justice and peace we see, judge and act. We believe we stand for our values. We believe that as united family of Christ, we could make another world at micro-level as well as at macro-level.

We believe we must change the system through the Kingdom which I at hand.
Last Updated ( Thursday, 16 August 2007 )