Education in South Africa: Broken and Unequal

Understanding the education context in South Africa:

South Africa is one of the most beautiful countries in the world – celebrated for its magnificent scenery and rich diversity. But the landscape of our society is deeply marred. The legacy of apartheid has resulted in one of the most socio-economically unequal countries in the world which continues to trap people...

Contributing to Public School Reform

As a christian parent with children in school, how do I contribute to public school reform?

If you’ve had any access to any news and media lately it would have been hard to miss all the conversations happening about COVID and education. We’re in the middle of a pandemic that is highlighting the inequality that has long been resident in our...

Why Teaching and Learning Matters to God

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How Common Good is Responding to Education in South Africa

Nelson Mandela believed that “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” This, together with seeing the need for systemic change in the Education sector, is what fuels Common Good’s response to the Education crisis in our nation. Our view is broader than a single classroom and longer than a single year, as we...

Human Rights Day

On 21 March 1960, the community of Sharpeville and Langa townships, like their fellow compatriots across the country, embarked on a march to protest against pass laws. The pass laws required all indigenous Africans over the age of 16 to carry a passbook everywhere they went. This long-standing practice served to severely restrict and control travel, dictating when, where and...

Freedom Day

Freedom Day is the commemoration of the first democratic elections held in South Africa on 27 April 1994. These were the first post-apartheid national elections to be held in South African where anyone could vote regardless of race. Prior to this, during apartheid, racial segregation which was enforced by the ruling party, prevented any kind of inter-racial activity. It marks...

Day of Reconciliation

Two historical events happened on this day, 123 years apart. On 16 December 1838, Voortrekkers (members of Dutch-speaking people who migrated from the Cape Colony into the interior in order to live beyond the borders of British rule) under the leadership of Piet Retief laagered their wagons and fought a fierce battle against Zulu warriors, under the leadership of Dingaan....

Women’s Day

Women’s Day is a South African public holiday celebrated annually on 9 August. It commemorates the 1956 march of approximately 20,000 women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to petition against the country’s pass laws that required South Africans defined as “black” (under The Population Registration Act) to carry a pass. These laws served to maintain segregation, control urbanisation, and...

Book Club

A new world and a new way for us to connect about justice and faith - join us for an online book club on the first Monday of each month. We’ll be reading Tim Keller’s book Generous Justice and then meeting online to discuss what we’ve read, to locate ourselves in God’s heart for justice, and to challenge each...

A Strategy for Giving

We never want the problem of inequality to become so overwhelming that we are paralysed. Desmond Tutu once said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your...