Photo Credit: Twitter Cover photo of @OfficialCSA
September 24th is Heritage Day in South Africa. A day marked to commemorate and celebrate the nation’s vastly colourful and diverse people along with their many traditions, faiths and beliefs.
As proud representatives of this country, members of the the Proteas men’s team shared what Heritage Day and Month means to them.
Temba Bavuma
“Our heritage is more than just a word, it’s our identity. It’s looking in the mirror and recognizing who we are because we know where and from who we come from. I’m a proud Xhosa man and a proud South African – honoured to be part of a nation of so many races, cultures, religions and creeds.
“I hope that Heritage Day is a reminder to everyone that they are not alone, that they form part of a community, even if you don’t know where you are from or who your parents are, you are part of the South African community and by virtue of that we are united.”
Keshav Maharaj
“As South Africans, I think it’s important to embrace our heritage and remember the struggles of our past and how they paved the way forward towards our multi-cultural, rainbow nation. Whenever I travel, the one person people relate to is the great Nelson Mandela and how he and others brought us together under the Rainbow Nation. I think it’s important for the youth to pick up where they left off and continue to build on the foundation that has been set by our forefathers.
“As youth it’s important for us to take ownership of the country and make it an even better place than it is right now and to pass down the lessons learned from our elders, thus making sure we never lose out on who we are as a people of diverse backgrounds.
“We live in a beautiful, colourful, vibrant and diverse country and it’s important to me that we acknowledge, learn and cherish our cultural differences. We know about each other’s past struggles, but do we take the time to chat and get to know each other and embrace each other’s communities, religions and cultures? It’s important to understand this and pay tribute to one another’s forefathers. I see South Africa as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow because we live in an amazing country.”
Reeza Hendricks
“Heritage Day is an important day for our country and myself personally. We live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world, made unique by the diversity of its people. For me, it would be great to see every citizen continuing to embrace and appreciate different races and cultures to grow and even better South Africa.”
Dwaine Pretorius
“I’m incredibly proud to say I’m a part of such a beautiful, colourful country. Heritage Day for me is about celebrating the beauty in our many differences. South Africa is made up of so many cultures and communities and it’s not enough to just put aside one month in a year to celebrate our roots, people and what we all bring to Madiba’s Rainbow Nation. We have so much to love about our country and its people. We sing, we dance, we braai, we fish, we’re artists, we’re resilient and we are respected around the world for our kindness, compassion and capacity to forgive and unite. We must commit to passing down these values and our heritage and traditions to every generation still to come and raise our children to be proud to a part of such a great nation and to be proud of all her people as well.”
Name of Author: Cricket South Africa
Cricket South Africa (CSA) governs cricket in South Africa. Formed in 2002, it succeeded the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCB) and became the sole governing body in 2008. CSA oversees all levels of cricket, including national teams for men and women, and is a full ICC member and SASCOC affiliate.
