Women of Qwaqwa gather in prayer

By Emily Setona

QWAQWA – In time of crisis women usually fall to their knees in prayer and ask for help from a higher power. This is true for a group of women of Maluti – a – Phofung (MAP) who organized an interdenominational prayer meeting held at Show Tell Bible Church to pray for their community.

“The primary purpose of this prayer meeting is to pray for our children because we feel like the children are falling victim to a lot of negative practices and social ills. We feel like religious education should be returned to schools not just as part of life skills but as a subject because we are predominately a Christian community and our children need to be directed to God for strength to overcome the challenges that they face,” Winnie Mokoena one of the organisers said when talking to The Guard.

Morakani Potsani when addressing the crowd said. “Our hearts are broken as parents because we see the challenges that our children are facing. The issue of drug abuse, teenage pregnancy and sometimes as a parent you are afraid to discipline your kids out of fear because their attitudes tend to be aggressive. That is why we are here today to pray and ask for guidance and strength from God to help us to overcome the challenges in our families and communities.”

Executive mayor of Thabo Mofutsanyana Conny Msibi joins women in prayer at Showtell church.

Among the honoured quests were Mofumahadi Masetjhaba Mopeli from the Bakoena Royal household with other representatives on behalf of traditional leaders. On the political front Conny Msibi who is the executive mayor of Thabo Mofutsanyana district Municipality (TMDM) had this to say when addressing the women in the crowd. “As women there is a cry amongst us women, we have an anxiety when it comes to raising our children during this time because we live during a time where people are very angry. We were raised in God fearing families where our mothers used to pray to the God of their forefathers, so it is our time to return to the same God because our democratic political party was established in the church.” Malekula Melato a councillor from MAP shared the same sentiments saying, “As leaders we need to look back and ask ourselves where we went wrong. Being here today is a blessing because it is a way that the women of this community are holding us accountable as leaders.”

Thabo Mofutsanyana District municipality executive mayor Conny Msibi joins women in prayer at Showtell church.

In closing pastor Sekete Nchabeng said that whatever wall that is blocking the community’s prayers to God will no longer be an obstacle through the prayers of the women gathered at this prayer meeting.

“This wall will be moved because God is not deaf to the prayers of all the women gathered here today and he knows what the people of this community needs. “We need not just pray for our own families; we need to stand up and pray for our children and our neighbours’ children,” Nchabeng said.