THE BOKS, THE GREATS

IT'S OURS-image from sports24.com

This team now holds the World Cup, the Unity Cup for beating the British and Irish Lions and now, their THIRD Tri-Nations trophy!!!!

I don’t know much about sport, so I will not attempt to give a world class view on the great match played by the Boks against the All Blacks this weekend. However I do know the power of sport in nation building.

If there is anything we South Africans will come together for, besides a party, a braai, a story, music, it’s SPORT. It brings out our best attributes and it illuminates our patriotism.

Logging on to facebook on Saturday, almost every status read – GO BOKKE, and when these awesome men in green and gold played their part, it changed to – THAT’S IT BOYS! THIS HAS TO BE BY FAR THE BEST TEAM SOUTH AFRICA HAS EVER HAD! WELL PLAYED BOYS!

A nation in union, even if  just for one day, is a beautiful thing, where all share the same hopes and dreams – to see that fulfilled is indescribable. Thanx boys, may you proceed on the path of excellence with the whole nation as your cheerleaders! PAINT THE WORLD GREEN AND GOLD! OUR BLOOD IS GREEN!

WHAT ARE THE REAL ISSUES?

Caster Semenya-photo:AFP

The more things change, the more they stay the same. There is nothing new under the sun. Yet contrary to that, many believe that change is the only constant in the world.

Here is a case in point. In this very continent, about twenty years ago, Maria Mutola of Mozambique, a female athlete had to answer to questions about her gender as she was breaking into the scene. And now after all the developments and in the 21st century, a teenager is being taken through the most disrespectful form of questioning!

There are a number of issues that arise in this matter, most pertaining to gender and race. I have two issues that really bug me, that is management and timing.

A number of well equiped professionals shared Semenya’s confidence and trust, yet did not hesitate to betray it. Atheletics South Africa, along with the national athletics coach should have known how this would play out from the very conception of deceipt. They however went ahead and decided to trick Semenya into gender tests allowing her to think she was merely undergoing a regular drug test. Surely there should be some penalty for deceipt of this nature. What were their fears? Surely there are procedures in regards to things of this nature, and she is old enough to consent or deny such an deep invasion of her person. Surely this they knew, and chose to neglect.

Semenya underwent these masked gender tests on her return from the African Championships in Mauritius in July, this at a time where she was building a name for herself and getting ready for heavier medals. If indeed her gender was an issue in July already, maybe even before then, why wait till she received recognition on an international platform before verifying this information?

No wait a minute, that is so the wrong question, the question that bugs me the most is, why is her gender even a question? Yes I hear everything related to the advantage of speed if she is male etc, but what is the basis for the question in the first place? What kind of world are we living in when our gender is easily disputed just through mere physical appearance? If Semenya had been a typical girl, in high school, mocked by her peers on how she looked, I’m sure something wrong would have been found in that conduct, but when the ASA, and the IAAF (Internation Association of Athletics Federations) so carelessly treat this teenager, it is routine????

What kind of world are we living in honestly? I personally have not seen any defence come to Caster’s aid, I have seen now genuine remorse, even from the national athletics coach who had an attack of conscience, apologised and resigned. This matter should not have even gotten to such a stage, he was there when the trickery started, he should have exercised his morals then, not after the controversy, the grief, the paled victory of a talented teenager due to ill founded allegations against her gender.

Where were the mothers, the fathers, the brothers and the sisters of this nation when liberties were being taken and rights infringed due to doubt. One would think the lesson had been learnt twenty something years ago. Has anyone wondered then how this 18-year-old is to carry on facing the world after this tasteless smear campaign?

However, I’m almost certain, someone else has been blamed, for the ending, and the media frenzy. But what about the man who began the trick? Can he be blamed for what becomes of  his ‘great’ idea?

25 APRIL 2009

2009: x marks the spot

Today an announcement was made that will dictate the order of our lives as South Africans for the next five years. As fellow South Africans went to the polls this past Wednesday (22 April 2009) history was being carved. The unexpected was making its way to a visual reality. Many had said it would not be so, many whom we trusted and believed, or hold on, they didn’t say it wouldn’t be so, what they did say did come to pass, they said the ANC would win, by a large margin even, however they would not obtain 66.6%, the notorious two-thirds majority. And Lo and Behold, they didn’t, but they were pretty darn close it is ever so scary, they missed it by a 0.7% margin, give or take.

What came to me as a greater shock is that this was the will of the people. This was indeed a democratic process of the highest civilised order, hailed world wide for its peaceful, fair and encompassing nature. The people decided….they chose in all but one province that the ANC would govern them another term. The ANC got majority in every single one of the eight provinces and one province went to the DA, the Western Cape.

What shocked me the most was the Eastern Cape, many of the people in that province had showed that they were desperate for change, but come crunch time it looked like they chose to stick by their loyalties, citing the Mandelas, the Mbekis, the Luthulis, the Sisulus, the Hanis the Bikos of past generations gone by.

Which begs the question. Looking around is this the freedom that some of the great men died for and the others lived to see? Is our country at the brink of becoming a one-party-state? Do we as South Africans even understand the concept of democracy? If not, who should teach us, Politicians or the Media? Are the citizens of this beloved country informed about the ideology that their fore-fathers fought for or are they just living this pseudo-free life as though they were getting all that the blood of their ancestors paid for?

I am personally glad the ANC did not get a two-thirds majority. Even though they kept reiterating on the run up to the elections that even if they had it they would not use that power to change the constitution. Our constitution is hailed world wide for its great beauty and it is truly the only element that prevails daily in our democracy, equality and rights, the privileges of the citizens of a democratic nation, should those ever die we too would die. The constitution is the highest law in the country, as it should. If the ANC got their two-thirds majority, they would have the power to change the constitution, and with the recent events in the news concerning the leadership of that particular party, I would tremble just at the thought of what they would change and for what reasons.

What saddened me though with these elections is that there were really only four parties that South Africans were comfortable to vote for, the ANC, DA, COPE and IFP, in the winning order. What happened to the ID, the UDM, the PAC. Have the various parties who have fought so long to survive lost touch with the people on the ground? If so, is there a chance in hell that these parties will attempt to contest another election? If not then I have a level of fear, frankly in my view ANC, COPE, potato, potata, then we are left with just two options. SO LIMITING! But we shall see what this great nation comes up with next.

Now to the man of the moment, Jacob Zuma will be inaugurated on the 9^th of May as the fourth democratic president of the Republic of South Africa. So many people are holding their breath on whether this man will be able to move us to the next level of independence, especially on the economic front. I shall not go into the person of Jacob Zuma as yet (watch this space). However what I will say, the eyes of the world are wide open, and this man who is infamous for crime, dancing and singing, better prove to the citizens of this country that their faith was worth it and to the rest of the world that sometimes the greatest leaders come in rare forms.

This has been a great week in our beautiful country, and I only got chills when I saw all three former presidents alive and voting. Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe, that to me was the beauty of the process of democracy, however to add to this fascination, FW De Klerk, still alive and participating in the processes of democracy. Clearly the raw nature of this ideology, democracy, was worth the blood and sweat. May we not kill it in its infant stages.

AND LIFE GOES ON

our rainbow

Does anyone really know what is really happening in our country? Elections are days away and there is such uncertainty in the air, such questions that can never be answered in this short space, so the voter will vote on nothing else by faith.

This week the National Prosecuting Authority declared that it has decided to drop charges against ANC president Jacob Zuma, after 8 whole years. And the only reason given was that there had been some meddling so the NPA was no longer fit to persue the case. Does that then mean that JZ is off the hook, that there really was no case against him? The NPA refuses to share the information it accumulated this past decade on the man and his links (if any) to the crimes he was being charged for. This has seem political opposition parties up in arms. Throwing out their toys as each ran to court with different charges eminating from the NPA announcement.

The question I’d like to ask, is how did they allow themselves to get derailed? Now they have all lost sight of informing us the voter of the reasons we should vote for them, but instead are running out to nail one man, when thousands will decide very soon on who should govern, and because they have somewhat lost the plot, it might not be them.

Let’s talk about this voter for a second. My own belief is that the South African voter is still a loyalist voter, not that they vote in terms of race, as has been suggested, or that they are tricked every election. I sincerely understand the voter to feel an obligation towards the party they are loyal to, or that their parents and then their parent’s parents were associated with. It’s a game of loyalty, not one of measuring performance or seeking for change. Majority of our country will vote with their past and their hearts, not how life has been or how it could be.

Now as a political party, with sterling policies and a vision to turn this country around, why get diverted by those in power and loose site of the goal? Keep your eyes on the prize, for if you blink, you might find it has been snatched from under your nose by the powerful and calculating.

Democracy was designed to be a multi-party governing ground and the people’s voices should shout louder than any and should be heeded with haste. But suddenly I wonder about this vulnerable puppy-democracy of ours.

But come April 22nd, the people will speak, and they will be heard. One can’t help but wonder what the repocussions of what they will say shall be. THE WORLD IS WATCHING SOUTH AFRICA! Speak…

2009

Is it too early to anticipate what the year may have instore for the world this year? Can we stipulate if our country will have free and fair elections? Whether or not our democracy is mature enough to have it’s electorate make informed decisions? Is our media playing it’s role in this department? Will we vote out of emotion, finding that many died decades ago to allow us this right as a good enough gesture, or the fact that we do not want to turn into a one party state, or that we don’t like that face or the next so therefore we choose this one? Do South African citizens actually trust each other to make the best decision in this regard, do they know the policies of these contesting parties or is it just a gamble of the famous vs the infamous, the scandalous vs the righteous, the loud vs the subtle? What will the x on that ballot paper present for us this year? Or if indeed our brothers and sisters working abroad get to vote, what difference will that make, shall we believe that because they stand at some distance that they’ll see what we don’t see, however not all of them will be able to vote, because not all of them are registered voters. So will this open another can of legal worms? Oh 2009, it is our fate, just as the Chinese have said, that we may live in interesting times….may we be alert as we do the living.

South Africa

So much in a week. As a South African the past week has left me pondering on many things. Heritage month adds to the fascination of the past week. First is the big fuss over Zapiro’s cartoon with ANC President Jacob Zuma depicted as ready to rape blind folded lady justice and his allies pinning her down. Secondly South African President Thabo Mbeki seals the agreement for Zimbabwe to sign a deal. Thirdly Friday marked the 31st anniversary of Steven Bantu Biko’s death and his contribution was remembered. Lastly Friday’s court ruling on ANC President’s claims to corruption charges against him being unlawful.

Our week was full, our heads were pounding and life was happening all around us, but what about what was happening within? In a diverse country like ours, different people will choose different strengths in the news they hear and read, that means news will always affect them differently. So you may have to ask yourself what it is that struck you the most this week and why?

Steve Biko was my highlight. He reminded me of the heroes of days gone by. My first politics assignment in varsity was on this man, his life, his ideologies. Believe me you, all men have their faults, what makes a man great is the legacy that lives past his living days. What is he remembered for, having a mistress or contributing to the greater good of a nation? What holds more weight, the good or the bad? All I’m saying is the African mind will never be the same. Liberating minds has to be by far the greatest of glories.

South Africa, now we wait to see if present day heroes have the nation in their hearts as those of days gone past. We are living in our former glory….how long will it be?

90…The round number

Nelson Mandela's prison cell at Robben Island, Cape Town, South Africa by richiesoft from flickr.com

Most good people die young, living in this day and age the number 90 resembling the number of years you have lived is only but a privilege and what a joy to have it bestowed on an international icon. This past Friday was a joyous day for all South Africans and a splendid day for all Worlds, all Nations and the entire universe. The greatest of powers smiled upon one individual and did it with intent.

Mandela at 90 is a revisiting and a recollection of past worlds and a ray of hope for years to come. Not only has the man lead an examplary life but he has been humble in all his deeds. Having read his book one would learn how the road to leading to the outcome of a legend is not easy. Like every human being this renowned being once crawled, before he could walk, he walked before he could run, and just as he learnt to run he was tamed to a jog for nearly 3 decades, it is there that he trained his inner being to fight battles and win wars that are invisible to the layman.

As a South African, and as a Xhosa Woman I am blessed and honoured to be counted in the generations that followed those of Great Men like these. It shows me that there was a freedom worth fighting for so that I could live the life that my parents and grandparents chose to die for.

KUWE TATA UROLIHLAHLA MANDELA NDITHI TSHO TSHO UBEKHO, UBOMI BAKHO BUZOHLALA BUBALISWA NJENGALAMABALI WAYEBALISWA NGO KHOKHO BAKHO. You have made your mark on this World and your legend will be enternal. YOU ARE ETERNAL!!!LONG LIVE THE TALES OF GOOD MEN!

It’s been too long

first days of class 07

I have been away too long, where do i even begin to tell the tales of a modern day young female journalist…

So working for one of the greatest media houses in the country, the SABC is not as hunky dory and easy as it was painted out to be by the director of my dreams…he lied.

Half way through my internship I have lived and I have learned. The workplace is a jungle, filled with the most intellectual and strategic beings, if not it’s filled with those who dance around and scream, drawing attentioin to themselves so as to seem like they are being productive. However for a short while I was in the basket labelled -under-utilized intern. It sucked.

Then there it was, the answer to stopping me from groaning day in and day out. I got an opportunity to be an intern tv producer. WOW…this is where i am right now and all I can say is WOW, both in the positive and the negative. Sometimes one’s credentials can be their down fall, however if I learnt anything from the combination of Victoria Girls High School and the University of the Witwatersrand it was simply this: when thrown in the deep end, do your darnest to swim, the true task at hand is that you come out of the water…wet, yes, but alive and fit enough to handle the next challenge. That is the unspoken mandate…never shun a challenge. Especially not in this industry.

So I am a work in progress…and trust me the journey has many a winding road, many a sleepless night and many a teary eye, but the paths of legends usually is.

Till the next time.
STAY FLY!

BABY HAVEN SLIDESHOW

A PLACE TO CALL HOME

All images in this article are by Vuvu Vena

The main house is filled with children’s voices and the outside house smells of fresh, new life. Walking around to where the babies are cared for, she mentions that some of them are taking their afternoon nap. Before the door opens a number of toys and a bright desk and benches are laid out on what seems like a play area. On the side of the door is a sign that reads: Baby Haven.

“We are Christian and Pastors, so we thought we’d make a difference. We didn’t want to tell our children that we didn’t do anything,” said Caroline Webb.

Caroline Webb and her husband, David Webb are a couple from the East Coast of the United States of America and the founders of Baby Haven. They founded Baby Haven in 2003.

The first baby was found thrown in a dump across the street from a clinic in Dobsonville on the September, 1, 2003. In the morning a man found the baby crying, and took her to the clinic. The nurses said she was like a frozen chicken.

Baby Haven has been a home for about 30 children since it opened it’s doors to that first baby. Mostly new borns and at times a few months old. At present there are seven babies at Baby Haven, four boys and three girls. One of the baby boys was found in a bin in a settlement.

“My husband and I have always felt we wanted to make a difference in the HIV/AIDS orphan crisis, and we had been to Africa before and we thought we could help in a small way,” she said.

Baby Haven is a place of safety and a foster home. Some of the children return to their families. They stay for about eight weeks while the police investigate the child’s situation. Only when there is no family for the child do they get placed in foster care.

A story presented by Ruda Landman on Carte Blanche Interactive last year spoke of international and local adoptions. It indicated that adoption of South Africans by South Africans is very low, only 2000 children found local adoptive parents in South Africa in 2005.

It said that 54 000 children were fostered in South Africa in 2005. Landman said “Infertility is becoming more and more of a problem in prosperous communities, and the search for babies for adoption is becoming ever more desperate. Here in South Africa some white couples are prepared to go quite literally to the ends of the earth to find their bundle of joy.” The story then continued with the different cases on international adoptions.

Caroline said, “The law says that for a child in foster care the parents have up to two years to find a home for the child and their only responsibility during that time is to visit the child once a year. So some children are in limbo. But a lot have been adopted, about more than half of the ones we have cared for.”

Baby Haven is not an adoption agency, adoption occurs through government social workers when parental rights have been savoured. A number of people volunteer to take care of the babies, some volunteers are local and others are international. Most of them are part of the church that the Webbs attend.

David and Caroline have adopted a young girl of their own. “She came when she was seven, we adopted a seven year old girl who was orphaned, she is turning 12 soon,” said Caroline.

It is difficult for the volunteers and for the Webbs to let go of the babies that they care for, especially the ones that stay longer, she said. “It’s hard for the people…But we know that we’ve helped one child that is in crisis get to a family. If we can be a help in this crisis, then we feel before God it is our duty.”

The babies are found in hospitals, dumps, under bridges, and in long-drops. Those that have been found abandoned in hospitals have been for a number of reasons. Either the mother died after birth, or she was HIV positive or she couldn’t cope with having another child, said Caroline.

It is written on the Constitutional Court of South Africa website that: Children need special protection because they are among the most vulnerable members of society. They are dependent on others – their parents and families, or the state when these fail – for care and protection.

Section 28 of the Bill of Rights, entitled “Children”, says: that every child has the right to a name and citizenship. Child in this context refers to any person under the age of 18. They also have the right to family or parental care, or to appropriate alternative care when removed from the family environment.

They have the right to basic nutrition, shelter, basic health care services and social services. There are other laws besides the bill of rights that protect children, from things like domestic violence, neglect and child pornography.