THETHE HIGH SCHOOL MATRIC BALL
05 OCTOBER 2001, 18H00
ANANDA HOTEL - RUSTENBURG
MOTIVATIONAL SPEECH - RATANANG NKE
Mr. Speaker;
Our 2001 matriculants;
Distinguished guests;
Members of the Thethe High School Alumni Society;
Ladies and gentlemen.
Ke santlha ke bua fa pele ga batho ba bantle jaana, e bile le ya ntshosa. If you can promise me
that you will close your eyes and open your ears I=ll be able to address you without fear.
Happy circumstances have conspired to give us the rare pleasure today to celebrate both
the rewards of faith and prayer and hard work. I am honoured to be part of the inaugural
matric dance of the 21st century of Thethe High School.
My sincere thanks and gratitude go to the organisers for both inviting me to address this
august gathering and more importantly for putting together such a brilliant idea. Ke bua jaana
ka batho ba ba tshwanang le Mr. Francis Motene. Those of my generation and older will know
that we were only used to the concept of A fare well functions@ . It is also appropriate to thank
all of you present here this evening for taking the time out to celebrate with us.
-5-
For me personally, it is a matter of great inspiration to see the intelligentsia of our
communities come together in this way, not as observers seeking to out-compete one
another in an orgy of criticism and denunciation of others, but with the serious intention
to add to the strengthening, motivation and inspiration of our younger brothers and
sisters.
Fa ke bua jaana, I address myself to those who are ready and willing to be rebels against
illiteracy, graft , corruption, jealousy and laziness. It would seem to me that there are many
throughout our country who are ready and willing to be such rebels.
Whatever the limits, I believe that the spirit is abroad in all South Africa in favour of a
sustained offensive against illiteracy and all the degeneration that it represents.
As I stand before you this evening I am a conflicting inside. Ga ke itse go re ke lo reye eng. It
is very difficult for me to decide what I should tell you yet I treasure the opportunity of being
with you. What can I tell you that the various speakers before me elsewhere have not said? That
which you surely have heard many times before? Ke eng se nka le bolelelang sona ka HIV/AIDS
se le sa se itseng? Ke eng se nka le bolelelang ka sona ka manyofonyofo a madi a re fitlhelang mo
mmusong le golo gongwe, se le sa se itseng?
We live in changing times. Re tota re phela mo nakong tse di fetogang. Although this
cliché is uttered by almost all generations, I am certain that we really do live in a rapidly
changing world with globalization a reality only fools can ignore. What challenges does
-5-
this evolution pose for the 2001 matriculants?
What does globalization mean to the matriculants worldwide? What does it mean to the
matriculants of Thethe High School and indeed the Bafokeng matriculants as a whole?
It is universally accepted that in the medium and long term technology will be the key to
advancement , development and prosperity. Those societies who would have fully
adjusted and acquainted themselves to that scenario will, to put it literally , rule the
world.
I am not asking you to set out to rule the world . All that I exhort you to do, se ke lo gwetlhang go
re lo se dire, is to rule your own little world, yourself. You and you alone will in the final analysis
be responsible for your destiny. Mme wa gago, rre wa gago, kana tsala ya gago won=t be there
to take decisions for you.
I can assure you that it will not be easy. In fact you will have a far more difficult and torrid
time than myself and those of my generation and older. This is even so in a free,
democratic and liberalized South Africa. Competition is rife out there and by the time the
average 16 year old of today finishes university in a few years= time and is ready to
conquer the job market concepts like affirmative action would at best have lost their
meaning and emphasis and at worst a dreadful stigma and malaise that would
significantly hamper your progress.
The social and moral fibre of our society has all but vanished. It has been replaced
by an ugly and distasteful greed which transcends all sectors of our society. We thrive in illiteracy,
-5-
graft, corruption and above all laziness. Re tota re le metlapa! You , the 2001 matriculants and
those coming after you, are our last hope. Time has come not to concern ourselves with fame.
Let us concern ourselves with doing the right things, at the right time, at/in right places.
Go tota go tlisa boitumelo go barutabana ba lona go bona baithuti ba bona e le
batho setshabeng. Please make your communities proud of you. Please make the
educators of Thethe High proud of you. Please make Thethe High an institution every
parent would like to see his/her daughter/son enrolled at . I take pride in fact that, all
things being equal , no school in Phokeng produces accountants , engineers, lawyers,
teachers, you mention them, of note like we at Thethe do. Thethe High School, at its relative
infancy, produced smart matriculants and occupied position one for quite some time, a fact neither
you nor I can dispute. We, like the Kaizer Chiefs faithfully, urge you to bring back the
glory days of Thethe High.
On a more lighter note I wish to read to you an article given to me by a friend. Please
apply it. It read thus :
AThere is a universal principal that what you give out will eventually come back to you.
This translates to the fact that whatever your attitude is towards yourself or the world
around you, that attitude will create the reality that you live in and will become the reason
why you either attain success or failure in what you do. What you reap , you will sow. (my
emphasis)
We always find ourselves in situations where we owe some body something. In those
situations we are expected to pay back what has been given to us. When we receive a
-5-
present we feel obliged to return the sentiment. When a compliment is paid we want to
repay it. But the purpose of kindness shown in any form is that it should move away from
us and touch the lives of other people.
Just for today, adopt the principle of paying it forward. Choose three people in your
surroundings and act out of love towards those people. Give a compliment , buy a
chocolate , send an SMS or a message of love and hope, give someone a hug or a kiss.
Do whatever you feel is needed. You will know.
When you have done that ask those people to choose three people and to pay it forward.
Do whatever as long as it is an act of love. Don=t expect to receive it back, because it will
come back to you in a way that you never imagined. Watch the world around you change
and the day that you are in become brighter and easier. You never know what that
gesture might mean to some body and that paying it forward might mean to you. Sow
what you want to reap@.
It is never too late to form study groups. Ge o itse go re you are good mo Mathematics kgotsa
Afrikaans, o ka tlhopa baithuiti-ka-wena ba le mmalwa, you form study groups, mme o ba thuse. I
am proud to say that even at this stage of my life I am still a member of study groups at the
institutions I am enrolled at for my two higher diplomas.
Pele ke le eleletsa masego, ke rata go abelana le lona kgang e ke kileng ka e tlotlelwa ke tsala ngwe
ya me. O ile a mpolelela go re o ile a bona lekgarebe la MoXhosa. E ne ya re lekgarebe le le kwa
-5-
Sandton le na le ditsala tsa lona, la simolola la re: Amolo mhlobo, ndifumene umsembenzi
werhutyana@ Loosely translated, this lady was saying, Amy friend, I have found myself a Apiece job@.
This lady was referring to my poor friend. Next year you will be going to different institutions. We
don=t want to hear you calling your friends saying, AIjo tsala., ke setse ke iponetse Askoroponyana@,
referring to your boyfriends and girlfriends.
I wish to take this opportunity on behalf of the Thethe Alumni Society, to wish you all that
is best for you. Good luck with your forthcoming examinations and all you future
endeavours. I do not wish to repeat this to the same faces next year. I want to see you
addressing those who are now in Grade 11 next year.
Good luck and God bless.
-5-