Tag Archives: South Africa

Day 1883: The ANC comes first, not the country? I think not President Zuma

The government serves THE PEOPLE not the other way around – that’s my message to politicians worldwide.

It’s 12 : 37 PM on day 1793 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, pray, read Acts 28, publish my Disability of the Day feature, learn one new thing –Perfidious [per·fid·i·ous] adj. Deceitful and untrustworthy. “A perfidious relationship.”– go with the parents to buy stuff for my current local project – now all that’s left to be done is to wrap it and give it [yay] (thanks to my friends Wayne, Stan and Laurieann who made this all possible) – have breakfast and work on my future project.

Recently I read The ANC comes first, not the country – Zuma and I was OUTRAGED that the President of my country would think AND SAY that his party came before our country no political party anywhere in the world comes before the people it’s supposed to serve it just doesn’t work like that. President Zuma the ANC WILL NEVER come before the country because the people of the country voted the ANC into power and should they choose to they can vote the ANC out of power too.

Day 1828: Rethinking Homelessness

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Everybody has a story – that’s what I keep realizing.

It’s 12 : 05 PM on day 1828 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to pray, read Luke 28, publish my Disability of the Day feature, learn one new thing –In general, young salmon eat insects, invertebrates and plankton; adults eat other fish, squid, eels, and shrimp. Unlike all other salmon, the sockeye salmon has a diet that consists almost entirely of plankton. – and promote my Educate Generations campaign – yesterday Catherine Cook donated $20 and today Wayne Mansfield donated $50 (thanks firstly to God [I knew you would show up for me I just didn’t expect it to be this fast LOL] and then to Catherine and Wayne thanks so much for the ongoing support you guys I know I’m a bottomless pit LOL but it’s for an amazing cause 🙂 ) which brings my total raised to $4 900 only $100 more needed to get to $5 000.

Yesterday I read Rethink Homelessness – a poignant blog post by Brent Lindeque about homelessness in South Africa – before reading that blog post I, like most people, assumed that all the homeless people and panhandlers I saw on the side of the road were either drug addicts, alcoholics or just plain lazy I feel so bad about it because I was making assumptions about those people without knowing anything about them just like people often do to me I vow never again to judge people on the label that society puts on them.

Day 1806: Luister (and why I’m choosing to share it)

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A true patriot is one who shines a light on all that is wrong in their country so that the country may be better in the future – that’s what I have realized.

It’s 12 : 38 PM on day 1806 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, pray, read Mark 12, publish my Disability of the Day feature, learn one new thing –They eat each other.“They’re looking for fresh food and what’s around, and if that happens to be another lobster, then it’s dinner,” says Bayer. “One of the reasons lobster culture is not profitable is because they are cannibalistic, and there are lot of expenses that go along with that.”– have breakfast and promote my Educate Generations campaign – $4 601 raised so far (thanks so much everyone ).

Yesterday I watched Luister – a documentary about the lives of students of colour in Stellenbosch University, a South African institution of higher learning – I am choosing to share this documentary on my platform not because I want to embarrass South Africa but because I want South Africa to be better in the future (I love love love you South Africa). Watch Luister below:

Day 1737: Youth Day 2015

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“It is not possible for civilization to flow backwards while there is youth in the world. Youth may be headstrong, but it will advance it allotted length.” – Helen Keller

It’s 12 : 48 PM on day 1737 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, pray, read Micah 5, publish my Disability of the Day feature, feed myself oat and banana pancakes for breakfast, learn one new thing – Garish [gar·ish] adj. 1. Marked by strident color or excessive ornamentation; gaudy. 2. Loud and flashy. “Garish makeup.” – and entertain visitors.

Today is Youth Day here in South Africa – a day that honours the youth of 1976 who fought against the introduction of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in local schools – thinking about the youth of 1976 I am inspired to lead and to me to lead means to see problems and take steps to fix them.

Day 1687: Happy Freedom Day South Africa

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“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” – Nelson Mandela

It’s 11 : 40 AM on day 1687 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, pray, read Ezekiel 47, publish my Disability of the Day feature, learn one new thing –Never go up against a pupfish in a breath-holding contest. This wee swimmer, resident of warm springs near Death Valley in California, can go with almost no oxygen for up to five hours at a time, according to a new study due out this year – feed myself oat and banana for breakfast and promote my Educate Generations campaign– $2 700 raised so far .

Today is Freedom Day here in South Africa which, this year, marks 21 years since our first democratic election and though we still face many challenges as a country none are greater than the ones we’ve already overcome I am so proud to be South African. Happy Freedom Day South Africa. Use your freedom to better the lives of others.

Day 1683: Judgement, South Africa and Xenophobia

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Don’t judge all South Africans by the cruel actions of some – that’s my message to the world.

It’s 12 : 16 PM on day 1683 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, pray, read Ezekiel 42, publish my Disability of the Day feature, learn one new thing –Average life span [of scorpions] in the wild: 3 to 8 years– feed myself for an avocado sandwich for breakfast promote my Educate Generations campaign–special thanks to my friend, Jenni, for allowing me to mention the campaign in my guest post Disability Views Around the World: South Africa on her blog, Joyful Journey Mom – record and publish my message to kids who have Cerebral Palsy in Soshanguve, Pretoria -I was invited to speak to kids who have Cerebral Palsy in Soshanguve, Pretoria, but I can’t be there so I decided to record them a video message and upload it on YouTube [see the video at https://youtu.be/vBpG6HRqifU].

Recently parts of South Africa have been swept up by xenophobia and some people outside the country have seen that and taken the opportunity to label South Africa a “disaster” to those people I say don’t judge all South Africans by the cruel actions of some all the good people of South Africa will stand together and we will overcome xenophobia like we overcame apartheid.

(On another unrelated note: Today is World Book Day please take time out to read books have been my ticket to everywhere and my loyal companion).

Day 1678: A Unique Perspective on Loadshedding

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Perspective is everything – that’s what I keep realizing.

It’s 12 : 25 PM on day 1678 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, pray, read Ezekiel 37, continue reading And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseni – I think I’ll read more in 2015 because of loadshedding which is not the worst thing in the world 🙂 – feed myself egg sandwich for breakfast, read some more, publish my Disability of the Day feature, learn one new thing – Carrots can be traced back about 5,000 years through historical documents and paintings. No one knows exactly when the first carrots appeared, because many people mistook them for parsnips, a close relative of the carrot.– and promote my Educate Generations campaign–$2 700 raised so far .

Yesterday during loadshedding (enforced power cuts due to an overloaded power grid) I realized that South Africa is probably the only country that has Earth Hour almost every day for two hours at a time loadshedding is definitely an inconvenience but I take comfort in knowing that it’s good for the planet.

Day 1597: 6 Things I Love about South Africa

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South Africa is an awesome country – that’s what I want the world to know.

It’s 12 : 13 PM on day 1597 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, pray, read Jeremiah 14, publish my Disability of the Day feature, learn one new thing – A jellyfish and a cucumber are each 95% water – promote my Educate Generations campaign–Madalina Cristea who has donated once times before donated $20 yesterday (thank you SO MUCH Maddie your ongoing support means a lot to me ) which brings my total raised to $1 650 only $850 more to raise to reach goal- feed myself egg with bread and a banana for breakfast and continue promoting my campaign – still on $1 650 but I’m grateful 🙂

This morning for some reason I was thinking about what I love about South Africa and I just had to write it down. Take a look:

6 Things I Love about South Africa

The whether – in summer we have beautiful sunshine and blue skies and in winter it’s rarely unbearably cold
The people are diverse – you could be sitting next to a fellow South African and have no clue what they’re saying because they’re speaking another language (South African has eleven official languages)
There’s so much to see – you could spend days in Cape Town without running out of things to do but if you’re not into sun, sea and sand (who’s not into that?) you can go to the Kruger National Park and see some of our wonderful wildlife
The food – I love Umngqusho (samp and beans), Boerewors (long sausages rolled into a spiral and cooked on a Braai (barbecue)), Biltong (jerky) and Koeksisters (deep fried dough dipped in cold sugar syrup)
Our constitution – South Africa has one of the most advanced constitutions in the world under which (in theory) all who live here have the same rights (same-sex marriages were legalised in 2006)
The sense of possibility – you think of someone like Mr. Mandela who grew up herding sheep, fought for his country and rose to the highest office in the land and you feel like anything is possible for your life

Day 1548: The Silver Lining in the Loadshedding Cloud

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There’s a silver lining in every cloud – that’s what I keep realizing.

It’s 12 : 05 PM on day 1548 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, pray, read Isaiah 33, publish my Disability of the Day feature, feed myself egg with bread for breakfast and promote my Educate Generations campaign–still on $1 090 but things are bound to improve 🙂

As I’ve mentioned before South Africa has been experiencing a series of power outages it’s an inconvenience but I’ve noticed that South Africa has not been this united since Nelson Mandela’s passing all South Africans are pissed off about this so while we may not have electricity we have national unity just goes to show there’s a silver lining in every cloud. Do you see the silver lining in every cloud?

Day 1506: Making the most of life

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⁷Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. ⁸Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. ⁹Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. ¹⁰Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

– Ecclesiastes 9: 7 – 10

It’s 12 : 14 PM on day 1506 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, pray, read Song of Songs 1, publish my Disability of the Day feature, stretch my hamstrings, feed myself a peanut butter sandwich and a banana for breakfast and promote my Educate Generations campaign – still on $750 but that’s fine when the donations aren’t coming in as fast as I’d like I focus on raising awareness about girls’ education.

Recently South Africa was rocked by a high profile shooting tragic events such as this remind me to love, laugh and do meaningful things with my life.