I am a passionate and positive South African with a desire to inspire change in our country. Whether it is writing articles and blogs like these, working one-on-one, in deep rural communities, schools or boardrooms, my work aims to inspire all South Africans – and give them practical tools – to move from negativity to positivity; from violence to nonviolence; from passive to active; from armchair critics to co-architects of a better future.
I invite you to join me in creating the future we all dream of!
Don’t Get Mad, Don’t Get Sad…Get Up!
I have battled to write recently. This is odd because I usually have a great deal to say. But I have been struggling with what a dear friend and colleague calls “the black dog” of depression. For those of you who suffer from depression, you will know that it is damn...
Funding Journalism: An Insurance Policy for Our Nation
“It may not always feel like it but South Africa is in a better place than it was this time in 2017 – and the media played a critical role in getting the country to this point.” Jessica Bezuidenhout: “Journalism in a time of State Capture” Daily Maverick 15 August...
Land Expropriation – Bring It On!
As a white person I do not fully understand the land expropriation without compensation issue. In truth, I cannot. My background, my thinking, my skin, my privilege precludes me from really getting it. But what I do know – and what, it seems some other white writers...
Inequality – It’s In Our Hands
During the 16th Nelson Mandela lecture, former US President Barack Obama humbly and vulnerably took issue with a side of humanity that few are ever brave enough to; the side that says that more is always better. He said: “Right now, I am actually surprised by how...
The Humble Jaffle – Igniting Peace and Reconciliation
On a recent holiday in our beloved second home of Mpumalanga province, we decided to take a day-trip into the Kruger National Park. The idea was a gentle game drive up to the Skukuza day visitors’ area where we would light a fire at the communal braai area and make...
Child Abandonment: Our Solution to the Increasing Crisis
In South Africa we have a great many babies – apparently some 3500 known cases – that are abandoned annually.These are the ‘lucky ones’ that get found alive because figures show that for every abandoned child found alive, two are found dead. Some of their deaths are...
Minimum Wage and the Stingy South African Employer
Should the proposed National Minimum Wage of R20 an hour (R3500 per month) be implemented, around 6.6 million people will benefit. We should take a moment and allow that to settle in our souls; an estimated 6.6 million people earn less than R20 an hour. R160 per day....
Changing the World – One Story at a Time
Our country is gearing up for the 2019 election and so predictably, the seeds of division are being sown. Racist rhetoric, polarisation, distortion of facts and even hate speech are going to be the order of the day for the next 12 to 18 months. This sets us back in...
The Cold Within
There is a poem called “The Cold Within” that was written in the 1960’s by then unknown American poet James Patrick Kinney. I first heard this poem quoted by our former Public Protector Professor Thuli Madonsela, but apparently it is quite well known the world over....
Peach & Brown vs Black & White: Slipping Out of Past Realities
If you are bringing up small children in South Africa, you may well have heard the words “brown” and “peach” used to refer to black and white people. I simply cannot express in words how these terms irritate me. They irritate me even more than that other new South...
White Lies – Justifying the Racism in Our Schools
An article in last weekend’s Sunday Times entitled “White flight ‘over fear and mother tongue’” tells us that white people are pulling their kids out of schools where there are too many black people. In former Model C schools there are now only a handful of white...
Thuma Mina – Send Me: A Toolkit Part 2
This monthly feature is our response to the President’s invitation: “Thuma Mina – Send Me”. It is a toolkit of ideas to help our readers respond to that call. In 2007, I returned from the UK having spent 6 incredible years living and working in London. Virtually as my...