RETIRED nurses including those who are still in the field of health said they can't fold their arms and watch Mzansi go down the drain.
They said the youth is dying due to drug and alcohol abuse. They said people are also dying as a result of gender-based violence and that killer diseases are on the rise.
For these reasons, a prayer service was held on Tuesday, 23 January at Mabopane Indoor Sport Complex in Tshwane, where the health workers were seeking divine intervention.
The leader of Mabopane Retired Nurses Task Team, Matilda Mekgwe, said only prayers can heal the country.
She said they saw it fit to organise such a session to seek answers from above with the aim to encourage communities to pray for all challenges facing the country.
“We saw it fit and realised it's important to invite God in our daily lives, considering all the wrong things that are happening around us. There’s a lot that is going on in this era that we live in. There's too much crime. Our kids are hooked on drugs and people are dying as a result of gender-based violence including children,” she said.
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“Things are just getting out of hand, and that's what prompted us to stand up and do something. We are also worried about illnesses such as HIV and TB that are rising. We feel it's our duty to take our worries to the one above who created heaven and earth,” Mekgwe said.
Mekgwe further said there's a high rate of teenage pregnancy and the abuse of alcohol, adding that all they could do was ask God to take control.
Mmathabo Morake from Mabopane Retired Nurses organisation said the prayer was also to encourage those who are still working to continue doing the work that they do and keep the lights on.
She said nurses are also faced with difficult challenges of healing the sick and that they too need prayers to stay strong.
Ward 20 Councillor Neo Mochumi said it was important for communities to come together and pray, especially in these tough times. She said this was one form of ploughing back into the community by the nurses.
