The Freedom Charter is the first document apart from the Bible which takes neighbourliness and loving your brothers and sisters in the community seriously. Its unbanning is good news for Christians.

I was present when the Charter was adopted on June 26, 1955. When we met in Kliptown, I was in Std 9 at St John's College in Umtata. I belonged to the ANC Youth League, and attended the Congress as a member.

Before that, I had attended a few Youth League rallies, but the excitement we experienced at Kliptown was something I had never known before.

It was exciting because people were declaring openly that political rights could be available to all, regardless of age, colour, sex, wealth or education.

It was also the first time that we tried to solve our problems on a non-racial basis.

After discussions were held, and the Charter was drawn up, it was read out to everybody. The joy that was there was as if a baby had just been born.

Because of its fundamental Christianity, the Charter still has tremendous potential for change in South Africa. The document will be criticised by black consciousness bodies and other groups who want short cuts.

To fight for a democratic future, through democratic methods, is much harder and people will often try to short-circuit what is difficult. The Charter lays down the value of disciplined democracy.