And that is not all

So I am still busy with my project and in the last set of interviews I conducted I met this amazing artist who teaches canework - well that is what he called it and I would not know the difference. Essentially, he teaches unemployed and illiterate people to weave cane and make cane furniture. He speaks in the gravelly voice of a blues singer and have the long delicate fingers of an artist. When I asked him what his highest level of education is he gave an indistict mumble which I think meant he left school at the age of 14. But in quick cost calculations I could not keep up as he rumbled off measurements and calculated the costs of furniture in various designs. He sponsors some of his students out of his own pocket, but he only gets a minimal salary for three of the eight hours he works a day. His hand outs and class tests are hand written/drawn for each student and there are fourteen of them. He dreams of opening his own shop front, of employing more young people. Of uplifting his community. I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to meet a man of that caliber, to spend some time in his presence and to maybe create an avenue through which his dreams might be realised

Going on a road trip

My bestest friend from childhood is getting married on the 4th of April, mind you now that I think about it. All my close friends chose April for their weddings. It must be the magic of the season, warm sultry days, changing colours of nature and the refreshing evenings.

To celebrate this wedding, Elrich and myself are going on holiday. To the most magical of provinces in South Africa - the Eastern Cape. Scarcely populated, unspoilt wilderness, blue skies and mesmerizing star gazing. The wedding is on a farm close to Steytlerville (I had to look that up on the roadmap to even get an inkling of an idea of where we will find ourselves.

I have decided to take a slow trip down and will start the drive on Sunday. Our first planned stay over is the Baviaanskloof Lodge, where we will be from Tuesday to Friday. I have heard so much about the Baviaanskloof and am really looking forward to discover the beauty of this wilderness area. On Friday we are of to the wedding venue where we will share accommodation with other wedding guests and party till the early hours of the night. Funny story, I decided that one of the dresses in my cupboard will do just fine but needed a scarf/shawl for around my shoulders, so I took it of to a nice dress shop and requested some assistance. The floor attendant was just too happy to have me parade in my dress, bare feet and pony tail to choose the perfect accessory for the big day. Had me giggling and reminded me of the fashion shows I gave Stephan when I was finding my new me after the divorce.

After the wedding we will be staying in a cottage on the beachfront in an isolated little town called Oysterbay. John might join us for a day or two there after which we are of to Stormsriver and then via Oudtshoorn (Ostrich farms and Congo Caves) back home. Just in time to miss the mass migration back to work after the Easter long weekend.

A well deserved break I think, even if my computer has to come with me.

The faces of poverty

Today I joined a friend and her mom on a little charity drive to an impoverished white community living in a squatter camp just down the road from us. I so wanted to take photos, but I could not. I just could not invade their private suffering like that. The hollow questions in those light eyes, the children running around in wild abandon.

What was interesting was how well organised the operation was. There is a soup kitchen/delivery area for all donations. Which gets written up in a book, with contact details and a person responsible for the equitable distribution of all the stuff. Clean spaces everywhere between the tents, little fenced of gardens. The homes were tents, corrugated iron shacks, caravans and wooden structures. A ray of hope in the middle of drawn faces, emaciated bodies.

I see poverty on an almost daily basis - seeing white poverty affected me differently. What does that say about me? Is the desperation just so much easier to read in those light eyes? The wrinkles more prominent on a white skin? Is it because it could be me? My family? Does black poverty look different because I dont understand all the cultural nuances and the language is foreign? I am thinking I would like to go back there, armed with a notebook and my camera. I would like to go and capture some of their stories.

The vastness of Africa

One of my clients has an operation in the Richtersveld, a semi desert area in the south western side of SA, we flew in on a chartered plane, to land in a fenced area. The only difference between the landing strip and the surrounding desert, were the fence

That bit of dust in the centre of the photo is the plane landing which came to fetch us.
The local school - yes that little building in the middle of the photo. I took the photo like this, really to show that there is nothing remotely close to the little school, apart from sand and more sand
A little informal settlement on the outskirts of the local town. Even in an area with a population of just over a thousand people, 30% of the houses were informal.

Unfortunately I did not take my camera with as i just did not have space, so all these photos were taken with my cellphone. I really have to get a good quality small digital camera as I am still in the age of film.

The world is just such a strange place right now

E did not want to go to school today, he would have gone anywhere else but not to school, my home, his daddy's house, oupa - but please mom, I dont want to go to school! he was crying and clinging to me as they pried him from my arms

My close friend got hijacked yesterday. They held a gun to her head as they made her lie face down on the brick drive way. Then they manhandled her as they stole all her jewelry from her body. Fortunately she did not get really hurt

There is a man that wants to give me everything I have ever wanted with Phil. I am not even close to ready to let him into my life. It is really weird though as I have such a strong desire at the moment to be part of a happy family, have more children, have somebody come home to me and love me. Feel emotionally secure in the knowledge that we are a little unit that will face life together.

Sighting out a Site

I had to be up at shortly after four am....the cockerel at my new place made sure I did not miss the alarm clock and I was all dressed and ready to roll by 5:30. Had to meet the project manager at their head offices in Centurion at 6:00 sharp to make sure we make our meeting with the very very important director of Local Economic Development at 10:00.

Yes it is a loooong drive and we stopped three times, for coffee, a pee and the special biltong stop shortly before our destination. At the meeting we were informed that the other two very important people we had to meet could not make it - this is the reason why we drove all the way. To meet the relevant ward councilor and the contact person for the local chamber of small business. The one had to take their car in for a service and the other is simply not available - I am gently stroking my leg to calm myself down with my colleague wanting to burst into hysterical laughter. I am reminding myself that this is Africa and everything works on a different time scale, even if I did phone the previous day to confirm that the meeting was still on schedule. So we left to sight some core boreholes instead and decided that we would just continue to try and get hold of the ward councilor all day long as I really need to see the projects to decide where to from here.

Our patience paid of and shortly before three that afternoon we eventually got hold of her, she directed us to the traditional authorities (now why the municipality could not do that is a mystery) and we were enthusiastically escorted to a poultry and piggery project

Where we traipsed ankle deep through mud and pigshit to listen in amazement to the interpreter telling us that the products are actually sold wholesale to commercial operations, something like 190 chickens and 8 pigs in the previous month. We decided that our feasibility studies should include some research into the viability of opening a local branch of Health and Fitness

It Is All Just Political Vomit!

ARggg I am the one that has always defended our here president, but honestly, he is getting on my nerves

His prejudiced comments on white racists as the harbingers of crime headlines and disillusionment in the country's 'success story' is getting too close to bile to swallow. Followed by his nonchalant remarks that unpatriotic citizens must just leave the shores whilst those of true value will take responsibility and work in unison to rebuild our country smacks of exclusion than I find hard to swallow. Combine that with a severe shortage of any skilled people across all colour bars, you get a society made up of top earning elitist people living in high techno secure suburbs, driving their imported, satelite tracked vehicles to cushy office jobs, gliding to a guarded stop at any intersection where they come face to face with the dregs....the gazillions of hawkers, beggers, pick pockets and smash and grab villans.

And instead of really adressing crime, he prefers to build a R9 million wall around his house, reminds everyone of the struggle to freedom and gets on the next flight out of the country.

'General' Musings

Out of a political melting pot, suddenly there is arising an afrikaner identity. It is an educated one, it is young, it is forward thinking, it is non racist, but it is agitated. The fire that set the whole lot boiling is a song. By a young talented rocker, about a general in the Anglo- boerwar.

A symbol of a true leader, someone that cared, not only about his own people but also the opposition. Cared enough to protect a general that was taken as prisoner of war, not only did he make sure this guy got nursed back to health, he also lobbied for recognition of his bravery by the British government after the end of the war. A true hero and humanitarian.

Everyone is uncomfortable though, does this mean violence and the destabilisation of the country? Different opinions and debates are flying across the floor. Amidst all of this, kids are getting on their horses and protesting against changing their afrikaans school to a double medium school. Local towns are all getting a name change, Mbeki is claiming that crime is only a perception and our minister of health has a serious mysterious disease with everyone speculating on whether it is AIDS or not. Fortunately for her future life expectancy, AIDS does not exist, at least not in SA and if it did, all you had to do is eat beetroot and garlic. All the local municipalities are conducting household surveys, Broad based black economic empowerment is on the front page of most business magazines and teenage pregnancies are soaring. They also culled 23 000 elephants and everyone is upset about canned hunting.

And the chorus just calls for a leader to lead us.

Canned and Ready for Mass Consumption

I must admit, I fantasize a lot. Fantasy and reality intermingled to present what I experience as life, my life. Sometimes it works.

With these photos it did not work, instead I managed to capture the cagedness of life. It all started as a wish for the smell of Africa. Moist dark soil, grass seeds and open sun burned spaces. It ended as a faux safari, complete with Asian tourists and American volunteers.

The true king of the African savannah. Despite his environment, no one can question his regal bearing.







The agitation of this male lion was obvious for every one that bothered to care. How is it possible then that some tourists could open their windows and wave at him to get his attention? No wonder foreigners get eaten in SA, they do not read the signs. Or maybe they just do not understand english?









Some quality cuddle time spend with the family, never mind all the gawking cars trying to get a shot of these big cats. Our visit to the lion park left me feeling empty. A bitter taste in my mouth when I looked at these photos. What are we doing to ourselves and our world?