So help me God...
In my lifetime, I can only pray that God grants me my wishes, wishes to lead my generation in the times of change. Long have we lived in a breaking world where nothing is for keeps, waking up each day to a world devised with poverty inequality, unemployment and great sorrow as millions mourn the loss of loved ones, lost to not just the epidemic killer diseases [HIV/AIDS] but too that of which is known and unknown.
So help us God...
Help us in renewing our generation of people who still live, with the hope of the future. There are two things that a person has and cannot live without and that is love and hope, but with fear these two essential commodities to life's best treasures are left unearthed in the confusion that the world continues to experience.
So help me God...
To explore my nation and travel the world to experience the sorrow and mourning, the torture, pain and killing of our people - that continues to lead our promising continent into deeper turmoil. That I will not be alone as I reach for hands with the aim of touching hearts and addressing minds, with the aim of cleansing thoughts. Till they ultimately reach out to the Lord above where when all is done and pain is gone they know that the creator of all things and beings is indeed - God - and the pain, suffering and grieving will soon pass. For when one believes in love, one is free - for with Love there is peace, with love there is comfort and with love there is complete understanding.
So help us God...
In a continent where men work hours on end with the daily struggle to make ends meet, women caring for children which their husbands have abandoned and tasked with the ills of caring for a generation forgotten.
In a continent where the youth are unemployed and wake up each day in search of the days treasures to not only gain financial independence for themselves but for their families which they care for.
In a continent where we are ridiculed by our governments, looked down upon by our public servants who serve only with self enrichment in mind, where those in power live in complete disregard of the rest of the nation and little is done to change the state of their livelihoods.
In a continent where the rich continue to gain riches and the poor continue to drown in poverty - are we ever going to eradicate poverty? We can still Hope. There IS still Hope.
Give us the know how, grant us the ability to love our neighbors beyond reason, where we willfully give without expectation, with the hope that better will be rendered back to us because in God we believe in and he is indeed of undying, eternal love.
So help me God...
Help me lead the young women of my nation through advocacy and labor. Where I speak for the unspoken, for the fearful and for those who have nothing more to live for, for as long as night comes and the sunrises each day, there will be hope, there will be joy and there will be bread on their tables.
So help me God in my journey to liberate my oppressed people in Africa, the young girls who are abducted on a daily basis, trafficked and sold to prostitution, the innocent continuously raped and sexually harassed by their loved ones. Those young and sold to early marriages for economic gains, those who are abused and murdered for speaking out about what they believe in. So help me God, as I journey into my purpose of calling for their social, economic, political and individual liberation. For I believe, when the greater masses hear the cries of Africa's children, so will they rise and when they rise, we pray they rise indefinitely.
So help us God...
In building African Nations that will prosper:
An Africa where women and girls are entitled to basic human rights and are taken care of.
Where the married too young are no longer subjected to sexual, violent and emotional abuse by their spouses.
Where their voices are heard and unjust actions by perpetrators are called in by the state and Justice is served.
An Africa where hunger has no home and starvation is no daily routine.
Where the less privileged are granted basic subsidies and mentored into making a living.
Where no family lives on less than $2 a month and fiance is a commodity that comes in abundance.
Where poverty subsides and later becomes extinct.
An Africa where intercontinental trade is a basis for national development, growth and maturity.
Where Africa trades indefinably with the global market and fruitful & lasting global partnerships are formed.
Where businesses boom and the economic prosperity is shared amongst citizens of all social classes.
Where citizens of Africa love one another and fear no more & the call of xenophobia takes no oath.
An Africa where peace reigns and war is no more.
Where youth are at rest and their futures are at peace, for they fight no more.
Where protests, strikes and marches are a thing of the past.
An Africa where education is a priority and every child is educated.
Where the young are taught practical applications to theoretic principles.
Where the young plant seeds they will reap in building empires that will modify the future.
An Africa where no youth is unemployed.
Where all lands of a single nation are lands of equal opportunities.
Where the young and restless are encouraged, motivated and mentored to remain economically savvy.
An Africa where cross-cultural integration leads to continental and global social cohesion
Where Africans are connected because of ethnicity, history and understanding - and not pride
An Africa where the rich are as poor as the poor and the poor as rich as the rich.
Where equality is a norm.
Where the freedom reigns from the roots of governmental, corporate and private structures and decisions made on all levels are to the benefit of all.
An Africa that agrees on the liberation of it's people.
Where heads of states are selfless beings and traditional leaders lead in favor of it's people through effective and efficient democratic governance.
An Africa where religion is a choice.
Where judgement is not based on religion, creed, belief, culture, social status, race and ethnicity.
Where no child, man or woman is brutally torched and murdered because of their beliefs.
An Africa where justice is served.
O! So help me God.. in granting me the days to experience my Africa develop and grow and in granting my wishes as I embark on a journey devised on my purpose to serve...God hear me as I share - My prayer for Africa.
Amen.
Zanele Mabaso is an ardent advocate for the global youth community, with primary interest in sexual reproductive health, education and economic empowerment of young women and girls in Africa. A member of the Global Shapers Community, Tshwane Hub in South Africa and One Young World Ambassador, Zanele is determined to lead were governed for the liberation and Human Rights Representation of women around the world. She is the Global Ambassador for ILive2Lead International and strongly believes that exceptional young women leaders need to take the authority of being free - to inspire, motivate and lead those who are not as privileged. She is inspired by the outlook on the future of the African Child and considers Africa – Home.
Twitter: @zanelemabaso23
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