Mossel Bay Mighty Men Conference launch

Gallery

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The Mighty Men Conference (MMC) launch took place at the Diaz Hotel in Mossel Bay today.

It was officially announced that the conference is taking place from 15 to 17 December at Bartelsfontein Farm, off the N2 outside Mossel Bay.

What is significant is that 16 December, during the conference, is Reconciliation Day. This was noted at the event this morning.

Head of marketing and public relations on the local MMC organising committee, Pieter Terblanche, led the event.

He told how he and his father truly reconciled and restored their relationship when they both attended an MMC in 2010.

Lukas Swart

Keynote speaker

The keynote speaker today was Dr Arno van Niekerk, who wrote the Christian book, Genoeg! Hoekom is ons hier? His book, the front cover of which has a large South African flag, deals with the “healing and restoration of a land on its knees”.

He told the audience: “God wants to raise up fathers to break the orphan spirit in South Africa.” He noted that Nelson Mandela had been a father figure. In the same way, Angus Buchan, the founder of the MMCs, was a father figure.

As an example of a father, he called from the audience a local pastor, Dr Malvery Peffer, who is a resident of Benevolent Park seniors’ home and thanked him for all he had done over the years for the community in the Mossel Bay area.

Head of the MMC local organising committee, Lukas Swart, spoke on the financial aspects of the conference and said it was all about partnership. Although it cost several millions of rands to stage an event this large, it would bring large dividends in terms of saved lives, he noted.

The roles of the MMC committee members were outlined by Terblanche

PHOTO GALLERY: Mighty Men Conference (MMC) launch

Pieter Terblanche

Supportive

Mossel Bay municipal manager Colin Puren gave a rousing speech, noting that the mayor, mayoral committee and councillors were 100 percent supportive of the event and that it fitted with the council’s GROW strategy, the fifth pillar of which was to grow social and moral regeneration in the municipal area.

The other four pillars are growing governance, the economy, the environment and safety.

He said the mayor, Alderman Dirk Kotzé, was unable to attend the launch because he had to attend a vital SALGA (SA Local Government Association) meeting in the Cape, but Kotzé had been extremely keen to attend and Puren said he was conveying all that the mayor had wanted to say.

Dr Arno van Niekerk

The other speakers were members of the MMC local managing committee. Personal testimonies were given and prayers were said for the conference.

The main aim is to restore men to lead their families effectively, thereby helping them to lead communities and the nation effectively. The spill-over of that would be South Africa impacting the rest of Africa positively.

Ways people can support the MMC, the theme of which is “Arise”, are through financial and other donations, giving of their skills and expertise or assisting and volunteering in many ways. Contact Lukas Swart (lukas@degoedeuniverse.co.za) if you would like to assist in any way.

The MMC Mossel Bay local organising committee and its partners in the conference. Mossel Bay municipal manager Colin Puren is standing, second from right.