07/09/2026
Sharpeville - Cradle of Human Rights
On the 5th of September 2026, the Traditional Healers Organization collaborated with Majesty Comics , Emfuleni Arts, CoGTA, CONTRALESA and the Gauteng Provincial Indigenous Knowledge Systems Department in bringing the story of Naledi: Juggling Life, Education & the Calling to life.
This was more than the launch of a comic book. It was a conversation about identity, heritage, education and the place of African spirituality in the lives of our children.
Indaba ka Naledi yindaba yethu.
Naledi is a young girl navigating life, her education and the profound calling of ubungoma. Her story asks us to confront an important reality: how many of our children carry similar gifts and experiences, yet feel pressured to hide or suppress who they are in order to fit into spaces that do not always recognise their cultural and spiritual realities?
At the centre of the day was one question:
Sizoyilungisa kanjani? How do we get it right?
For us, the answer lies in Ukubuyisa Amasiko (Reclaiming and Preserving Our Heritage). It is about decolonising the mind and creating spaces where our children do not have to choose between their education and their identity.
Gogo Masechaba, a member of THO’s National Executive, opened the proceedings through umphahlo, acknowledging imimoya emihle, ekhanyayo and seeking permission from the ancestors before the work could begin.
There was something deeply significant about doing this on the soil of Sharpeville - the Cradle of Human Rights. As we honoured the spiritual protocol of the space, we were reminded of THO’s ongoing work to advocate for a proper, truthful and meaningful place for Indigenous Health Care Practice and Indigenous Health Care Practitioners within our country's systems.
Gogo Brenda, THO’s National Secretary General, guided the Sacred Space of Q&A, engaging young people and participants around ubungoma, stigma, education, identity and what it means to grow up gifted in a society that can sometimes make our children feel that they must choose between who they are and who they are expected to become.
And perhaps this is one of the most powerful messages Naledi gives us:
Ubungoma is not the opposite of education. It is heritage. It is knowledge. It is identity.
We are deeply grateful to Majesty Comics for creating a story in which our children can see themselves, not only as learners, but as young people carrying culture, knowledge, gifts and responsibilities.
Sibuyisa ubuntu ebuntwini.
We are decolonising the mind, one child, one story at a time.