Young people from around the Sinthumule area were urged to refrain from criminal activities and focus on their school work. This was during the Sinthumule Day of Prayer at Ramantsha, where different churches, pastors, traditional leaders, the police, residents, different stakeholders and community structures gathered to pray for the current crisis faced in communities regarding the escalating crime in the area.
Tshilwavhusiku SAPS's station commissioner, Lt Col Mapefo Emily Machaba, strongly discouraged young people from indulging in any form of crime as this may eventually result in their having to battle through life with a criminal record. She stated that a problem with young people who frequented taverns and committed heinous crimes in the middle of the night on returning from those taverns existed currently.
"Our youths break into homes and steal articles such as phones, TV sets, computers and music systems," she said. "Stop destroying your future, and try to focus on your schoolwork instead. Don't do things that you'll regret tomorrow."
She encouraged young people to make education their main priority. "When I look at you, I see future mayors, doctors, teachers, nurses, engineers and state presidents. Don't allow your poor financial background to determine your future, because there are lots of bursaries out there to finance your education."
She reprimanded young children who travel at night without being accompanied by older people, saying that this was extremely dangerous.
Vhamusanda Vho-Ntsundeni Sinthumule said that young people needed to be given moral education to encourage them to stay clear of criminal activities. "It's important for us to tell the children about the dangers of involving themselves in crime," he said, also encouraging the parents to support their children in their education.
The chairperson of the Sinthumule Pastors Forum, Phineus Maleme, encouraged the youth to pray for whatever they want in life. "Today's youth tend to forget and to look down on the power of prayer. Let us change all that and start believing that, with hard work and God, everything is possible. A nation without education is doomed and will not develop. Let us help prepare our youth to be responsible members of society who will contribute positively to the development of our country," he said. "Never again do we want to see our youth making headlines in papers for committing suicide or shooting their principals for 'failing' them at the end of the year."