More than 100,000 gather for national day of prayer as SA confronts unemployment and poverty

The country's gender-based violence and huge unemployment, and poverty crisis became a rallying cry for more than 100,000 people from various faith denominations who gathered at the FNB Stadium for the National Day of Prayer on Sunday.

The annual event, which has become a big part of the country's religious calendar, is organised by the Dr Patrice Motsepe Foundation.

Among those who attended the religious gathering were Zion Christian Church (ZCC) leader, Dr Barnabas Lekganyane, Tshwane Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya, gospel singer Sbu Noah, Dumi Mkokstad and many other gospel singers.

"Today, we honoured an invitation to pray alongside thousands of people who’ve answered the call made by the Motsepe Foundation for a National Day of Prayer. What a beautiful morning to witness the unity of citizens gathered with a singular purpose of spiritual fulfilment," Dr Moya stated.

The Chief Executive Officer for the Motsepe Foundation, Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, has indicated that the day is aimed at fostering stronger unity and social cohesion in a bid to collectively find solutions for the many social ills in South Africa.

Moloi-Motsepe indicated that this year's gathering was intended to highlight the plight of some of the country's various burning social issues, including poverty, unemployment, and for business leaders to help steer society into the right path.

"This year in particular, our focus is on the country's poor. We know that South Africa still struggles with high levels of unemployment, high levels of poverty. We also pray for our leaders in business and NGOs to have the capacity to help the poor. We also pray for the end of the issues of gender-based violence," Dr Moloi-Motsepe stated.

Bishop Reginald Lingoabala, representing the Presbyterian Christian Church, prayed for the restoration of the spirit of Ubuntu among South Africans.

"We pray that those cold-hearted individuals to change. We pray for the end of crime, corruption, and end of poverty. We also pray for jobs for our children. We pray for love, peace, and happiness in our homes. Help us, Lord, return to you and the spirit of ubuntu so that we can respect and love one another," he stated.

According to the foundation spokesperson Benny Boshielo, the 5th instalment of the mass prayer gathering, which began in 2017, features more than 37 religious and faith-based organisations and this year it attracted more than 100,000 attendees.

”We started with 37 religious and faith-based organisations, we have got more than 20 which want to join in now, but they are attending. When we started, we had about 70,000 to 80,000 people. Now, it is over 100,000 people who want to attend. So we had to find a way of scaling down, to the churches, to cut down on your numbers, as we can only do as far as FNB can take," he said.

The National Day of Prayer is recognised as one of Africa’s largest interfaith events, bringing together people from diverse spiritual, cultural, and racial backgrounds. Now in its fifth year, the gathering aims to promote unity, healing, and social cohesion across South Africa.

"May peace be upon you. We stand here today, at a critical juncture, facing challenges both known and unseen. It is in moments like these that we are called not to despair, but to continue in our mission," Lekganyane stated.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za