Our hearts are crying for justice after the G20 summit

Reverend Tanelle Welff-Dixon, founder of the Tanelle Welff Ministries and Foundation (TWMF)

When I attended the G20 Social Summit in Gauteng, my heart was heavy. I did not go there as a politician or someone seeking praise.

I went as a woman of faith, a survivor of great pain, and someone who sees suffering every day in Kraaifontein. I went carrying the tears, the fears, and the hopes of our people. I went because God calls us to speak when others are silent.

I was grateful not to stand alone. With me were people who also care deeply:

• Pastor Garrif Albertyn, who spoke with emotion about the elderly who are pushed aside, treated without dignity, and made to feel as though their lives no longer matter.

• Pastor Clint Dixon, who spoke from his heart about how people with disabilities feel invisible, judged, and left out of society, and

• Ms Ruth Petersen and Ms Linda Solomon, who spoke with pain about victims waiting for help that comes too late, while police and the justice system move far too slowly.

Together, we carried a message that comes from real lives, real wounds, and real love: people deserve safety, dignity, and protection.

When President Cyril Ramaphosa accepted the G20 Social Summit Declaration, many clapped. But in my heart, I thought about the woman who is afraid to sleep tonight. I thought about the child who feels trapped by gangs. I thought about the elder who cries alone. I thought about the military veterans who feels forgotten by the country they served. Good words cannot heal their pain, only action can.

I spoke as someone who has cried with families, prayed beside hospital beds, and held the hands of people who felt they could not go on. My faith teaches me that prayer is powerful, but faith must move us to act. The Bible says that faith without works is dead and promises without action are empty.

Even though the Western Cape group was smaller than expected, we did not lose hope. We stood strong because God gives strength to those who stand for justice. We spoke for the broken, but also for the brave. We spoke for the scared, but also for the hopeful.

South Africa cannot heal through government alone. We must heal together - churches, families, neighbours, and communities.

We are not whispering. We are crying out.

We are not weak. We are rising.

And we are doing it with faith, love, and unshakable hope.