Tuesday, March 13, 2012
A listening circle on race
We were made aware of this event and wanted to share it with you. It is being held independent of any organisation.
Mbali Vilakazi features at our March soiree
Our next soiree is on Saturday March 24, at a beautiful home in Constantia and this month our featured artist is the powerful poet and performer, Mbali Vilakazi.
Mbali Vilakazi is a fragment of open still catching the light.
A child of the city by the sea, who came into being under the watchful eye of a silent mountain. The Archer. Born on the 9th day of the 9th sign. She is Nona’s daughter, Mzamo’s sister and Avumile’s aunt.
She is a woman who holds the gaze. The lover and The fighter. And the keeper of the moment. She does not understand emotion to be a sign of weakness. Touched by the wisdom in children, she recognises the significance, magic and power of the little things. There is value in simplicity. To her, everything
counts. She believes that what is sacred is worth protecting. She moves through the world like Wind. And Water. And Fire.
She hears voices, sees in the dark and aspires only to wholeness.
Our soiree starts at 6pm, and tickets are R100 pre-booked and paid by EFT or R110 cash. Tickets include supper of hot soup, fresh bread, tea and coffee. To book, call Toni Stuart on 071 573 3597 or email tonistuart@gmail.com
The address for the venue will be given on confirmation of your booking.
Thank you to Empire Cafe in Muizenberg and Knead Bakery Surfer's Corner for their donations of soup and bread respectively.
Mbali Vilakazi is a fragment of open still catching the light.
A child of the city by the sea, who came into being under the watchful eye of a silent mountain. The Archer. Born on the 9th day of the 9th sign. She is Nona’s daughter, Mzamo’s sister and Avumile’s aunt.
She is a woman who holds the gaze. The lover and The fighter. And the keeper of the moment. She does not understand emotion to be a sign of weakness. Touched by the wisdom in children, she recognises the significance, magic and power of the little things. There is value in simplicity. To her, everything
counts. She believes that what is sacred is worth protecting. She moves through the world like Wind. And Water. And Fire.
She hears voices, sees in the dark and aspires only to wholeness.
Our soiree starts at 6pm, and tickets are R100 pre-booked and paid by EFT or R110 cash. Tickets include supper of hot soup, fresh bread, tea and coffee. To book, call Toni Stuart on 071 573 3597 or email tonistuart@gmail.com
The address for the venue will be given on confirmation of your booking.
Thank you to Empire Cafe in Muizenberg and Knead Bakery Surfer's Corner for their donations of soup and bread respectively.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Living Storytelling Garden
"In the end, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it's wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices." - Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, pray, love.
This paragraph really resonated with me as I reflected on writing a blog post after the last two weeks of receiving the most incredible support with I Am Somebody! This organisation, which was once simply an idea, has now become its own entity and that this entity is so beautifully held by the community. So it is with awe that I "surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity." Thank you so much.
I don't want to clump all of the incredible gifts together and risk that one might be missed, so I will write this blog post about an incredible graphic gifted by Sonja Niederhumer.
As part of our mentorship programme, we are partnering with the Novalis Ubuntu Institute to build a Living Storytelling Garden filled with the stories of our community and of the youth in our programme. On a beautiful, large wire tree youth will hang beautiful bags that hold the story of their life dreams and of the ways they have grown within themselves. Within the garden, among indigenous plants, along pathways, on stepping stones... everywhere will be written the stories of community members. A shared space, the garden will represent creating and acknowledging the community we all desire.
We are exploring building this garden to the left of the entrance at the Novalis Institute Centre. Although the scope of the garden will depend on funding, the aim of the space is to witness the growth of the youth in our programme and the programmes of our partner organisations. We look forward to this garden being used by anyone and everyone for work gatherings and for rest and reflection.
Here is an image of the concept of the garden, created by Sonja Niederhumer, an incredible gift of her creativity and time:
The work that Sonja does is truly incredible. As our thank you, we do want to mention that she is available as a graphic harvesting consultant. She can be contacted at: sonja.niederhumer@gmail.com
This paragraph really resonated with me as I reflected on writing a blog post after the last two weeks of receiving the most incredible support with I Am Somebody! This organisation, which was once simply an idea, has now become its own entity and that this entity is so beautifully held by the community. So it is with awe that I "surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity." Thank you so much.
I don't want to clump all of the incredible gifts together and risk that one might be missed, so I will write this blog post about an incredible graphic gifted by Sonja Niederhumer.
As part of our mentorship programme, we are partnering with the Novalis Ubuntu Institute to build a Living Storytelling Garden filled with the stories of our community and of the youth in our programme. On a beautiful, large wire tree youth will hang beautiful bags that hold the story of their life dreams and of the ways they have grown within themselves. Within the garden, among indigenous plants, along pathways, on stepping stones... everywhere will be written the stories of community members. A shared space, the garden will represent creating and acknowledging the community we all desire.
We are exploring building this garden to the left of the entrance at the Novalis Institute Centre. Although the scope of the garden will depend on funding, the aim of the space is to witness the growth of the youth in our programme and the programmes of our partner organisations. We look forward to this garden being used by anyone and everyone for work gatherings and for rest and reflection.
Here is an image of the concept of the garden, created by Sonja Niederhumer, an incredible gift of her creativity and time:
 |
| Photo of entire image |
 |
| Photo of the sign post and bench. |
The work that Sonja does is truly incredible. As our thank you, we do want to mention that she is available as a graphic harvesting consultant. She can be contacted at: sonja.niederhumer@gmail.com
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Poem by Malika Ndlovu
This week we are share a difficult but important poem written by Malika Ndlovu:
And on the seventh day, yesterday
She threw herself in front of a train
Her 3 year-old daughter, 4 week-old son
Crossing into oblivion with her
Young unnamed mother from Eerste Rivier
Stopping the six–to-six commuters dead in their tracks
Disrupting their usual sleepwalking Tuesday morning to howl
Without a sound, that she could find no other way out or through
The newscaster delivers this sound bite
Via my car radio this Summery afternoon
Like a poisoned arrow direct to the chest
Until I bear witness in words
I will find no rest, suddenly chilled
A brief involuntary gasping for air
As I hear the final blow, no-one...no-one
Has reported her missing or come to claim
Three once pulsing bodies, now silent and maimed
Perhaps only now she free to stop running
From the wolves consuming her from the inside
Invisible terrors of sorrow, guilt, shame, fear or despair
The paralysing loss of all reasons, heart anchors
To keep her hopeful or here
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