An ongoing search of constant and sustainable Lutheran Theological Education in South Africa in the 21st century.

This article explores the recent history of Lutheran theological education in South Africa, which is still confronted by the legacy of colonial and apartheid education systems. The latter need to be confronted with liberation and decolonisation systems that reclaim African indigenous identities. There is a need to cultivate a culture of quality and equal education, spirituality, politics, and socio-economic systems for the service of South Africans. Evangelical Lutheran churches inSouthern Africa are committed to improve and reform Lutheran theological education in the 21st century. Lutheran theological education is necessary to make a meaningful contribution towards training theological students to assist the church in its response to societal concern and contextual issues. The article introduces a recent renewal of Lutheran theological institutions in a new teaching and learning environment by the Lutheran Church. It discusses the implications and successes of Lutheran theological education in South Africa

Revisiting African Spirituality: A reference to Missiological Institute consultations of 1965 and 1967

This article revisits the hope of the First and Fourth Missiological Institute (MI) consultations in 1965 and 1967 regarding the survival of African Spirituality as relevant to the daily life of South African churches. African Spirituality has played a significant role in the cultural context of Africans. In the African context, African Spirituality is intertwined with life, death, and health, which co-exist with material aspects and the economy as gracious gifts from God. The churches in South Africa and elsewhere in Africa have been challenged by the African worldview of healing and culture. Thus, Africans mostly prefer the African-centred church with more African Christianity, instead of Western Christianity. This has been a serious challenge in African church circles for centuries, even in the current 21st century. The question therefore arises whether this is a matter for the Africanisation, indigenisation, and decolonisation of the church in Africa. Contribution: The article analyses the two MI consultations and whether the church in the 21st century has Africanised and decolonised itself in service of its African members. The study is a historical approach given the history of the MI’s contribution in South Africa. The concept of African Spirituality is unpacked and contextualised within the African Independent Churches’ (AIC) Zionist type churches such as the Zion Christian Church (ZCC), the St John’s Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM), and other Ethiopian type churches such as Lutheran Bapedi Church and others in South Africa and African Traditional Religions (ATR). The article engages the importance of how African Spirituality differs from other spiritualities within the context of Christian spirituality

Assessing accessibility and availability of portable water supply in selected communities of Lepelle-Nkumpi local municipality, Limpopo province of South Africa

In this study, we assessed the accessibility and availability of portable water supply in selected communities of the Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality. A systematic random sampling method was used to select 49 households from Mashite village and 77 households from Lebowakgomo Zone F. A Global Positioning System (GPS) was used to collect absolute locations of available water taps and the reservoir in the Mashite village whereas for Lebowakgomo Zone F municipal household taps data were recorded. Data were statistically analysed and the Pearson Chi-Square test was used to test the relationship between the reuse of onsite greywater at Mashite rural area and Lebowakgomo township area. The results showed that the majority of households (38%) in Mashite village obtained their water from the rivers whereas all respondents in Lebowakgomo Zone F had access to tap water. Further, ninety-four percent (94%) of respondents in Mashite village travel less than 1 km to a water source, while 6% travel between 1 and 3 kms. Proximity to standard water pipes in Mashite village was beyond the recommended 200 m distance. Thirty-five percent (35%) of the respondents in Mashite village and 77% respondents in Lebowakgomo Zone F, respectively, indicated that the available water met their water needs although the quantity of water used per month differed between the two areas. Most of the respondents (56%) in Mashite village used 250 L of water per month while 61% use more than 6000 L in Lebowakgomo Zone F. It is, therefore, recommended that local municipalities should provide rural communities with water taps that are in close proximity of 200 m to households as recommended by the Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG). However, even though the DPLG recommends the proximity level of 200 m, this is still questionable as some households still struggle to have enough running water as these taps are sometimes vandalised, not functional or even situated in elevated areas were it becomes impossible for water to ascend uphill due to the pressure of the water. In addition, it is further recommend that local authorities provide household taps that are functional. Moreover, the service delivery should be improved, and water provision infrastructure maintained regularly

Africanisation as an agent of theological education in Africa

This article focuses on the response of Africanisation to Western theological education in Africa, which has for centuries become a theological problem for the African context. In this 21st century, Africanisation is at the centre of the African discourse and focuses on the realities of our African context. Therefore, theological education in Africa should be Africanised in order to seriously engage the aspects of Africanisation. The struggle against colonial education was to ensure that Africa is liberated from unjust educational oppression, socio-economic oppression, poverty, racism, political oppression and gender injustice. In this regard, Africanisation is an agent to address the introduced Western theological education in Africa. Yet the two concepts, namely commercialisation and commodification, have an influence on theological education in Africa

Current Advances in Nano-Based and Polymeric Stimuli-Responsive Drug Delivery Targeting the Ocular Microenvironment: A Review and Envisaged Future Perspectives

Optimal vision remains one of the most essential elements of the sensory system continuously threatened by many ocular pathologies. Various pharmacological agents possess the potential to effectively treat these ophthalmic conditions; however, the use and efficacy of conventional ophthalmic formulations is hindered by ocular anatomical barriers. Recent novel designs of ophthalmic drug delivery systems (DDS) using nanotechnology show promising prospects, and ophthalmic formulations based on nanotechnology are currently being investigated due to their potential to bypass these barriers to ensure successful ocular drug delivery. More recently, stimuli-responsive nano drug carriers have gained more attention based on their great potential to effectively treat and alleviate many ocular diseases. The attraction is based on their biocompatibility and biodegradability, unique secondary conformations, varying functionalities, and, especially, the stimuli-enhanced therapeutic efficacy and reduced side effects. This review introduces the design and fabrication of stimuli-responsive nano drug carriers, including those that are responsive to endogenous stimuli, viz., pH, reduction, reactive oxygen species, adenosine triphosphate, and enzymes or exogenous stimuli such as light, magnetic field or temperature, which are biologically related or applicable in clinical settings. Furthermore, the paper discusses the applications and prospects of these stimuli-responsive nano drug carriers that are capable of overcoming the biological barriers of ocular disease alleviation and/or treatment for in vivo administration. There remains a great need to accelerate the development of stimuli-responsive nano drug carriers for clinical transition and applications in the treatment of ocular diseases and possible extrapolation to other topical applications such as ungual or otic drug delivery