Chabota, one of our ambassadors, has written a moving piece on African culture which fits in really well with National Unity Day.
My heart bleeds when I see families being torn apart. I am always troubled to see children in society with no place to stay. I ask myself one question: “don’t these children have a place where they belong?” The family institute has been broken. Family members or relatives no longer support each other. There is lack of unity in the family today
Africa is known for its extended family set up where each member or relative in the family is important. In the past family members used to help each other; they were united and worked together. But now hatred, jealousy and envy have taken over the hearts of people in some families. The importance of family unity cannot be underestimated
One of the reason that I think unity in the family is important is that it helps assist each member in the family to achieve his or her aims. Support and help from each member helps to improve progress in life in terms of education, moral conduct and social integration. But now one cannot help even his or her brother or sister’s child simply because of jealousy for fear that he or she will be better than the other
I think also that for unity in the family to thrive, there must be real love among family members. Love conquers every obstacle in families. Even in today’s family system, love should be the top priority for unity to exist. If a family is full of people who are jealous and hate each other, family members will not support each other and it brings divisions in the family
Every member in the family must work hard towards building and achieving a perfect unity. The family has huge influence on society and society influences the operations of a country. A united family is a united community and a united community is a united country. Love and good communication must thrive for unity to exist in the family today. Through our family, we understand how we fit into society, and that gives us our identity within the world
As the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr said: “We must discover the power of love, the redemptive power of love. And when we do that, we will make of this old world a new world – for love, love is the only way.” Imagine a family where there is only love and you will see a world filled with love.