25 May is the 45th anniversary of Africa Day. It is a day to acknowledge and celebrate African history, heritage and culture. Apart from celebrations, Africa Day should be a day for every one of us to stop just talking about the turmoil around us and actually get up and do something. Ferrial Adam’s Thought Leader post, “Xenophobia – it’s time to march in protest” really struck a chord with me. We need to collectively take a stand against the inhumane treatment of people and blatant disregard for human rights which is not only happening in South Africa, but in other African countries too.

SARocks have posted an article titled “What can you do right now to help foreigners?” which is definitely worth reading. Another way which you can really make a positive contribution is to support projects such as Three2Six. SAgoodnews reports on this initiative which provides schooling for more than 100 child refugees in Johannesburg. The school was launched in March this year by Sacred Heart College, the Refugee Ministries Centre and the Coordinating Body of Refugee Communities. Click here to find out more. This is just one example out of the hundreds of programmes which really makes a positive difference to people’s lives.

We’d love to hear about other initiatives which you are involved in or support, and also any information on Africa Day events happening this weekend.