Shared Interest News

June 16, 2008
Dear Friends:

Thirty-two years ago today, high school students in Soweto marched peacefully to protest the order to educate them in Afrikaans – a language they did not know.   One they perceived to be the language of the “oppressor.”   Before they arrived at their destination, South African police opened fire, killing unarmed youngsters.  As the death toll soared to more than 600, images of the massacre ricocheted around the world, galvanizing the international community, and changing the face of the country’s freedom struggle forever.
We dedicate this  2007 Annual Report  to those children – and also to today’s families struggling to feed their children at a time of rising food prices, to create jobs for them as nearly half job-seeking youth remain unemployed, and to launch a new generation of young black entrepreneurs, working hard to enter industries and access credit previously reserved for whites.
Expectations and stakes are high.  South Africa’s future and that of its neighbors — including the political and economic refugees living within its borders — depend on the country’s ability to deliver for this generation.  Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest economy must “get it right” in order to make a reality of the hopes for which Soweto’s children marched, and to help galvanize the peaceful and equitable development of the region and the continent.
Shared Interest has benefited more than one million low-income black South Africans.  Your generosity counts. Please join us by forwading your financial support to reach the next million South Africans. 

Sincerely,

Donna Katzin
Executive Director

2007 Annual Report : on the cover of the report is Nosimphiwe Tafeni makes Xhosa dolls from recylced bottles in Khayelitsha as part of the Masiphihlisane group, which received a loan from Shared Interest beneficiary Kuyasa.