Gerda Potgieter reports on the pioneering work of Lidia Dube, a community builder who initiated an influential youth conference which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary
Lidia Dube is a community builder who has a heart for young people, for the helpless and for the Lord. She has done pioneering work in various fields but most remarkably was used by God to plant the seeds 50 years ago for what became the influential Kwasizabantu Youth Conference.
More than 12 000 young people attended a thanksgiving service on June 23 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the youth conference, which is held twice a year at the Kwasizabantu Mission in Kranskop, KwaZulu-Natal.
At first Lidia was opposed to the Gospel but in 1968 she felt a divine calling to collaborate in the ministry of Rev Erlo Stegen whose small congregation acquired a farm in Kranskop in 1970, marking the start of the KwaSizabantu Mission.
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In 1974 Lidia was inspired to invite children to small youth services at KwaSizabantu where she shared the Gospel and her testimony. This marked the humble beginnings of the KwaSizabantu Youth Conference which consistently attracts thousands of young people to its biannual events.
In 2008 Lidia started reaching out to young drug addicts on the street and those who sought shelter in cemeteries. She brought them to the mission where the Gospel was shared with them and their needs were met. This was the start of the CYPSA (Concerned Young People of SA) which offers a free, holistic spiritual restoration and support programme to desperate youth. CYPSA also raises addiction awareness at schools, including across national borders. The programme has helped more than 20 000 people to date and many beneficiaries have stayed on at the mission where they are employed in farming and other projects which support Gospel and youth mission.
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This is an amasing milestone in the history of not only the mission, but in the country. It is one of the most sustainable events I’ve come across in my lifetime. Two youth conferences in a year for 50 years, and attended by thousands, is a milestone event worth celebrating. Thank you for publishing the story. I attended the event and my life was changed for the better. To hear first-hand and experience how youngsters receive the Lord as their Saviour -is life-changing and inspiring…