AfriForum celebrates its 15th anniversary with 275 000 members!
Today exactly 15 years ago, AfriForum made its first public appearance in an article on the establishment of a new forum called AfriForum that was published in Rapport on 26 March 2006. This historical article was written by the seasoned journalist, the late ZB du Toit.
I recall that ZB in his prior conversation with me mentioned that he thought AfriForum would be able to play a significant role if the organisation could get 10 000 members. Of course, when this organisation was founded it had no members and a staff of only three (myself, Alana Bailey and Annatjie With) and limited resources.
Although the three of us were determined to build a successful organisation, AfriForum’s growth and successes over the past 15 years have exceeded all our expectations by a long way. In fact, we were focussed on reaching ZB’s target of 10 000 members, but we were not sure if even that would be feasible.
Today, AfriForum looks back with gratitude on the numerous successes at international, national and local level that this organisation has achieved over the past 15 years by the grace of God and with the support of thousands of members.
We also are very proud of the fact that AfriForum’s active membership recently exceeded the 275 000 mark. AfriForum currently has more than 180 staff members and a further 100 contracted service providers. We have 159 neighbourhood watches and 150 branches countrywide. More than 12 500 volunteers form the heart of AfriForum’s activities at local level.
Of course, all these successes have not been achieved by individuals but by a team effort, in which each of AfriForum’s more than 275 000 members has played and is playing a key role. It is our members that make AfriForum strong. Without members AfriForum would not exist. Therefore, AfriForum sincerely wishes to thank each of our members. AfriForum’s successes are your successes. Together we are stronger.
We also are grateful towards God for enabling AfriForum to achieve so far what appeared to be humanly impossible. The vocation-driven hard work of AfriForum’s board, staff and local leaders also has been a key factor in our success.
AfriForum is looking forward to the next 15 years, during which we will continue applying our three-pronged success recipe to build a future where we and our descendants can permanently enjoy a free, safe and prosperous continued existence at the southern tip of Africa. This three-pronged success recipe entails the following: 1. We are driven by our vocation to create a better future (#AfriForumSkepToekoms); 2. We are working according to a practicable fight-and-build plan (#AfriForumVegEnBou); and 3. We have the executive capacity to execute this plan (#AfriForumKan).
Calling is AfriForum’s “secret weapon” because knowing that you are working on something bigger than just yourself, enables ordinary people like us to achieve exceptional successes in trying circumstances. The fight-and-build plan, briefly, entails that AfriForum is fighting for justice and against deterioration, and that at the same time we are building alternative realities at grass-roots level that make it possible for our community to look after our own interests with a growing measure of self-reliance and self-management. After all, the best way to fight deterioration still is to actively build self-reliant institutions, making progress practically and tangibly possible. If AfriForum did not have the executive capacity to execute the said plan, this plan would be nothing but a fruitless exercise in creative writing. AfriForum’s more than 275 000 members are creating an executive capacity that exceeds that of any other civil rights organisation in the southern hemisphere.
Although AfriForum is proud of what has been achieved over the past 15 years, we realise with humility that much still must be done to create a better future for us and our descendants. However, we are more than prepared to tackle this task with diligence and perseverance. Our ancestors repeatedly overcame major challenges and we will do so again. In this regard, the advanced plans of AfriForum and the Solidarity Movement to help create strong self-reliant anchor communities, where our communities take charge of their own future, provide hope for the future. AfriForum’s plans for increasing autonomy for the Western Cape also bring exciting possibilities.
Therefore, despite the government’s mismanagement and corruption, we ourselves can build a better future. The Solidarity Movement’s new Sol-Tech campus, the degree courses offered by Akademia, AfriForum’s new theatre and the do-it-yourself projects of AfriForum’s 159 neighbourhood watches and 150 local branches are only some of the living do-it-yourself monuments that prove that self-reliance is no pipe dream.
Thank you to AfriForum members who continue help growing this self-reliance, proving that there is hope for the future. Together we can, we want to and we will do much more in the years ahead. We owe it to our families and our descendants.
