Franschhoek

Archbishop Desmond Tutu to speak at launch

of the Franschhoek Valley Transformation Charter.

Thursday 16 February 2012 at 17:30

in the Dutch Reformed Church Franschhoek

All the inhabitants of the Franschhoek Valley are invited to the official launch of the Franschhoek Valley Transformation Charter on February 16th at 17.30 in the Dutch Reformed Church in Franschhoek. Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who, on getting to know about the Charter process has offered to be the patron of the Charter, will speak at the launch. Several choirs will render musical items of song of reconciliation and hope.

This is the culmination of a process that began three years ago, when a group of about 30 people living in the Franschhoek Valley began to meet informally once a month on Sunday afternoons. What brought this group of men and women from all walks of life and all local cultural groups together was a feeling of deep concern about the existing divisions between the various communities in the Valley. These are made worse by the inequalities in education, health provision, housing and employment opportunities as experienced by many of the inhabitants. The group felt that it was unsustainable for resources to be so unequally distributed in this region so well known for its natural beauty and tourist attractions, and for the affluent lifestyle of some of its residents.

Initially the group discussed the general sense of apathy and indifference in the Valley about this situation. The lack of communication and truly meaningful interaction between the different communities were also debated.  The group acknowledged that there were many excellent programmes run by individuals and NGO's doing great work, but that these were not addressing many other fundamental problems.

The most deep-seated challenge is that the people of the Valley, living here, in this place at this time, are not really a community in the true sense of the word. There are at least three or more communities, divided and unequal in significant ways, as a result of the country's history. Tragically, they do not know and trust each other, although they share a common environment and destiny. As a result they think of themselves as "us" and "them".

The group decided to endeavor to do something about this by together drawing up a Transformation Charter which would serve as a guide and compass to address some of these inequalities.  In a structured manner the rest of the inhabitants of the Valley were then approached as part of a continuous process to join in the quest of setting the Valley on a more sustainable path. This is not a political action but rather a civil society initiative, an attempt by ordinary citizens from within to take our own futures into our own hands. It cannot be fixed by anyone but us.

The group is deeply aware that action programmes are needed to tangibly turn dreams into reality. It was therefore decided to focus first and foremost on education. The objective is to address the needs of the children of the Valley, all the children, to demonstrate what it means for a community to care about its own and, thereby, its own future. This first project aims at bridging the divisions between the communities and at working towards creating fairer access to opportunities. Future projects will focus on issues like skills development, youth empowerment, culture and easier access to much-needed resources.

Download the full text of the  Transformation Charter  here:  Charter.pdf
A shorter version of the Charter is also available. Click here: Charter_Short.pdf

Download the Xhosa text of the  Transformation Charter  here:  Xhosa_Charter.pdf
A shorter Xhosa version of the Charter is also available. Click here: Xhosa_Charter_Short.pdf