Sakhisizwe -Building the Nation - Bou Die Nasie

Today we spoke to Fatima Dike – Director of a one-woman autobiographical show called I Promised Myself a Fabulous Middle Age. This is a story of Award-winning author, storyteller, motivational speaker and actor Sindiwe Magona. It is said to be a hilarious, thought-provoking gambol down memory lane as the author reviews her life from village to slum, domestic worker to UN employee working and living in posh New York. The show will be at the Baxter’s Sanlam Studio on Sunday, the 1st of June, at 5PM. Tickets costs R30 and you can book through Computicket. For more information contact (021) 680 3964. Nigel Vermaas was also joined us on the line for the Arts update in and around the city. In light of the xenophobic attacks in the country, the Performing Arts Network of South Africa or PANSA will bring together artists from all over Africa to make themselves heard on Sunday 1 June at 15h00 in the ‘We All Benefit’ concert at the Baxter Theatre. Tickets cost R50 and will be available from Comp...

Today we were joined on the line by Dr Wouter van Wyk - a Professional Career Advisor. We were talking about ensuring that your CV’s makes an impression. We all know the feeling of being hopeful and applying for a job but when you fail to clench that interview you feel despondent. But just imagine how many CV’s are submitted and according to statistics, recruiters who are often given this tough job by companies only spend an average of 17 seconds per CV. For more information advice go to www.careerconfident.co.za or email him to wouter@careerconfident.co.za . We also spoke to Muriel Susa – Chairperson of the Athlone Informal Traders Task Team. Traders in Athlone are privileged enough to have their own Informal Traders Task Team which deals with various challenges that they face as they try to make a living. Muriel explained more about the issues that are faced by informal traders and how they are addressing such issues. The Athlone Traders meet every Tuesday at 10 am. For details cal...

On Sakhisizwe we spoke to Colleen Higgs from Modjaji Books which is a new publisher for women in South Africa. They are inviting submissions for their upcoming short story anthology and are looking for innovative stories that characterize the world from a woman’s perspective. The topic for the anthology is “BED”. The stories must be in English and consist of 3000 to 5000 words. Stories should be unpublished and should somehow involve the theme of BED. All entrants must be women and citizens of a Southern African country (countries include: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Moçambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) Entries should be sent by e-mail to modjaj@gmail.com . If you need anymore information feel free to send them an e-mail or visit their website modjaji.book.co.za. We were also joined by Melanie Judge from OUT. About two weeks ago, OUT celebrated the International Day Against Homophobia by highlighting many gains achieved for the legal recognition of...

Today on Sakhisizwe, Building the Nation, Bou die Nasie we were joined in studio by Vivian Tobie from Action on Elder Abuse . Elder abuse is a phenomenon, not only in South Africa but globally and is rising as a social problem. Elder abuse occurs across all economic, ethnic, religious, gender and cultural groups. Persons who are engaged in detecting or in identifying abuse should have good skills, knowledge and abilities to do so. Many of the signs and symptoms of elder abuse can be attributed to changes brought by ageing; therefore elder abuse can easily be “misdiagnosed” or not identified at all. For more information you can contact their offices on (021) 424 0574 or fax them to (021) 426 5530 alternative visit their website www.icd.gov.za . To report any elder abuse you know of, phone 0800 00 3081. Picture taken by Sakhisizwe Trainee Producer Rhodé Marshall On the line we had Eliza James and Nobathembu Rhululu from the African Scholars' Fund. Their goal is to ensure that no chi...

This week on our Health slot we spoke to Marius le Roux the Provincial Health Coordinator who spoke to us about World No Tobacco Day. The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the 31st of May as World No Tobacco Day and every year WHO provides a theme to guide the commemoration of this Day. The theme for this year is “Tobacco-Free Youth”. Marius explained more about the Awareness Campaigns that the department is running. To smokers: It is never too late to quit smoking, be informed that you take an immediate decision to quit smoking you will increase your life expectancy by 10 to 15 years. QUIT SMOKING AND HAVE CONTROL OVER YOURSELF. To the young people and non-smokers: “STAY SMOKE FREE”, it’s a Good healthy choice and lifestyle that you can pursue. If you want to quit, here is a quitline: (011) 725 1514 or (012) 312 0180. For those non-smokers who come across restaurants that do not comply to the law which says that they should have smoke free zones – you can report them on 021 40...

Today we spoke to Mike van Graan – Newly Appointed Executive Director of the Africa Centre. Mike is an award-winning playwright/producer and a leading arts activist. The Africa Centre is a non-profit organisation that seeks to document, promote and celebrate the arts, culture and heritage of the African continent. Its major projects since its inception in 2007 have been the launch of the biennale Spier Contemporary visual arts exhibition, the Spier Poetry Exchange and the Spier Performing Arts Festival. We were talking about the programmes they have that promotes the arts and cultural heritage of Africa. On Sunday we are celebrating Africa day, so go out there and be a proud African. For more information about the Africa Centre visit www.mtnsciencentre.org.za or contact (021) 881 3116. We were also joined by Nik Rabinowitz - South Africa's top Jewish, Xhosa-speaking Comedian and yes he can speak Xhosa. We were talking to him about his new show IN THE NIK that’s on Broadway. It is ...

In today's show we were joined on the line by Anton Steenkamp - Practising attorney and partner in the employment law department at Edward Nathen Sonnenberg law firm. We were talking about Pornography in the workplace. According to labour law experts, some form of pornography such as child pornography are illegal and employers can face criminal charges if they fail to report it to relevant officials. Anton explained more on the legal implications of viewing porn during work hours. For more information about Edward Nathen Sonnenberg visit www.shg.co.za or contact (021) 410 2500. We also spoke to Shanaaz Voterson from Sikho-Sonke Youth Development Agency. They are currently looking for unemployed people who have experience but no papers in the following fields: welding: electrical: construction; brick laying and carpentry - grade 10 is the minimum requirement. Register at the unit 1 and 2, Spes Bona building, Harmony Square, Town Centre. For details call Shanaaz on (021) 391 7414. ...

Today on Sakhisizwe we had an interview with Nomfundo Mogapi – Manager of the Trauma and transition programme at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. We spoke about the xenophobic violence that has marred the country. The attacks that started last week in Alexander has left at least 24 people dead, many more injured. What started small has now spread to several other townships, as well as the Johannesburg CBD. The question everyone is asking is – what went wrong, what prompted this and how do we solve this problem and make sure it does not spread to other provinces as well? If you want to know more about their organisation you can contact their offices on (011) 403 5650 or visit www.csvr.org.za , the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral committee member for safety Dumisani Ximbi said in a statement, that the spread of these attacks has prompted the city to ensure that similar incidents are not instigated on a similar scale. He has appealed to communities and leaders across C...

On our Health slot this week, we had an interview with Dr Neil Cameron – Head of the Department of Community Health, at the University of Stellenbosch about Influenza. Yes this is the season for flu so you need all the information you can about it but I guess the most important message we are trying to spread is that each and everyone needs to be vaccinated. The influenza virus is very contagious and easily spread from infected persons to others around them. It is different from the common cold, it begins suddenly and symptoms are much more severe. Get vaccinated at your nearest health facility against influenza especially if you are at high risk because of underlying medical conditions. For more information contact your nearest pharmacy, clinic, or hospital. That interview is brought to you by the National Department of Health and Funded by the European Union. We were then joined by Professor Theresa Lorenzo the Western Cape Chairperson of the Occupational Therapy Association of South...

In today’s show, we were joined on the show by Busi Maqubela from the MTN Science Centre. We were talking about the progammes and activities that they will be hosting in celebrating the National Science Week - an initiative by the Department of Science and Technology which aims to excite South African youth in the field of science at a young age. It also aims to develop an interest in studying mathematics and science subjects in schools. If you wanna know more science visit the MTN Science Centre in Canal Walk – I heard that the place was buzzing yesterday. For full programme visit www.mtnsciencentre.org.za or contact (021) 529 8100. We also spoke to Louise van Rhyn – Coordinator of the international celebration of life stories. The International Day of Sharing Life Stories was initiated by the Museum of the Person, an international network of virtual museums of life stories, located in Brazil, Canada, the USA and Portugal, and the Centre for Digital Storytelling, based in Berkeley, C...

Today we spoke to Virgil Seafield - Executive Director from the National Department of Labour. We were talking about Child Labour. Child Labour is very common in this country and those who are found guilty will face the might of the law. Members of the community can report any form of child to (012) 309 4000 or visit www.childlabour.co.za We also spoke to Professor Barney Jordaan - Director of Maserumule Employment Consultancy. According to Professor Jordaan in terms of the South African common law there is a price that the employer is obliged to pay for being able to issue instructions and being able to practice control over his employees. The price he is referring to is that of being held liable for the wrongful acts of those that he employs. Professor Jordaan explained how this influences employers and employees. If you more information contact their offices on (021) 914 3321 or visit www.jordaan-stander.co.za PIC: www.usb.sun.ac.za And last but not least we heard from the labour Mi...

Today on Sakhisizwe we had an interview with Zwelethu Jolobe who is a Political Analyst from UCT. We spoke about the effect war has on women. Countless women and girls all over the world suffer the trauma of war - as widows or orphans, perhaps displaced from their homes, sometimes detained. They are often separated from loved ones and become victims of violence and intimidation. War has an extremely negative effect on women, mainly because they fall victims of rape, abuse and having to care for children in a danger zone. The effects of a war will continue even after the violence has ended as they are caught up in armed conflict. The question is could women’s plight in wartime, be improved if the rules of humanitarian law were fully respected? We were also joined by Vanessa Coulson and Thato Molomo, Social Workers at the Cape Town Refugee Centre. We looked at the experiences of women refugees in South Africa and outlined the challenges they face as they try to survive in a country far ...

Today we heard from Zweli Mkhize – From the Khulumani Support Group. The Khulumani Support Group is a national membership -based organisation of victims and survivors of Apartheid human rights violations. The group was started in 1995 by the survivors and families of victims of Apartheid. If you want more information about the organisation you can contact their offices at (011) 403 4098 or visit www.khulumani.net PIC: www.daylife.com We also spoke to Fahima Mohammed, Simphiwe Mzayifani and Patrice Kabwe – Peer Educators from Africa Unite. Africa Unite is a community based organisation that promotes human rights and also empowers young adults who comes from different cultural, social and economic backgrounds. They were here to speak to us about their Human Rights Peer Education Project. So if you want to know more about their organisation or this particular project you can contact their offices on (021) 467 7626 or visit www.africaunite.org.za

In this week’s Health slot on Sakhisizwe we had an interview with Yolisa Siziba – a Social Worker from the Cerebral Palsy Association of South Africa who spoke about Cerebral Palsy. It is a disability that affects movement and body position and comes from brain damage that happened before the baby is born, at birth or after a baby is born. Yolisa told us more about Cerebral Palsy and whether is it preventable or not. For more information contact their offices on (021) 685-4150. That Interview was brought to you by the National Department of Health and Funded by the European Union. We closed off the show with Janine Lloyd – a Life Coach. She told us about emotional eating. If you eat in response to your feelings, especially when you are not hungry, you are an emotional eater. Emotional eating means your emotions -- not your body -- dictate when and/or how much you eat. Experts estimate that 75% of overeating is caused by feelings which means that most of us are guilty of using food to c...

To kickstart your weekend we had a special interview with Calvin Peters, Clive and Natasha Torkley. They joined Sakhisizwe to talk about the Tony Schilder’s benefit Concert. Tony, one of the Cape music icons was hospitalised after he collapsed at his Tableview home and had to go for an operation – doctors gave him a 50/50 chance of pulling through and he is currently on life support. In order to raise funds for his hospital costs, friends and other musicians are hosting this concert tonight at Westend in Rylands from 6PM. Some of the artists who will be performing include Allou April, and yes Richard Ceaser will also be perfoming, Alistair Izobell, Terry Fortune, Sammy Webber, Vernon Castle, Leslie Kleinsmith, Zayne Adam, Glen Roberts, Black Currant, Del Segno, Take Note, Tucan Tucan, Darryl Andrews & The Jonathon Rubain bands. Pledges and donations can be deposited into the following account: A. SchilderFNB - Montague GardensCheque Account: 54821161450 Branch Code: 204/709 For mor...

Today on our weekly Labour slot we spoke to Jan Truter who us a labour law specialist from Labourwise. He spoke to us about a new legislation to crack down on child molesters – meaning that the employment of certain sex offenders will soon be strongly regulated. This new legislation will, under certain circumstances, prohibit certain employers from hiring or continuing to employ sex offenders. Labourwise is an advisory service developed to assist HR practitioners in bigger organisations with their duties to get support. Visit their website on www.labourwise.co.za or call them on (021) 852 3499 . Discussing the believed staff crisis at the Western Cape police 10111 emergency call centre was Superintendent Riaan Pool. Claims have been made that the call centre is being run by untrained operators who are unable to handle the volume of calls that comes in over weekends and public holidays when a lot of fatalities occur. It has been further reported that the call centre runs with a skelet...

In this week’s Gender slot we had an interview with Dr Bronwyn Bock-Jonathan an outgoing Captain for the South African Netball team. At the age of 32 she has 5 Degrees and a doctorate in Sport Sciences from the University of Stellenbosch. We spoke to this dynamic young woman about her achievements. Sadly for us she has taken up a new job, as coach of the ACT Academy team and the Canberra Darters, as well as Athletic Development Officer at the ACT Academy in Australia and will be leaving the country in June. PIC: www.whoswhosa.co.za

Today we had an interview with Gillian Burrows – National HIV/AIDS Coordinator from the Disabled People of South Africa (DPSA). As people who were non whites were discriminated against during the Apartheid era – the same way the disabled are continuously left out from the rest of society, mainly because people have not changed their mindset towards the disabled. Gillian joined us to take a closer look at the issue. If you want more information about the organisation you can contact their offices at (021) 422 0357. Pictured: Busisiwe Mtabane - Sakhsisizwe's Presenter and Gillian from DPSA We also heard from Tania Moodley – Project Manager for Child Protection & Support Services Unit from RAPCAN who spoke to us about Child Neglect. Last year it was reported in the media that Cape Town was the most dangerous city in South Africa for a child to live in. South Africans have watched the headlines with a growing sense of alarm as violent crime against children have become increasingl...

We spoke to Sheila Clouw - from the National Society of Midwives of South Africa. Today is an International Midwives Day. It is an occassion to celebrate and promote the profession of midwifery. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises midwives as the health professionals best able to deliver safe, cost effective maternity services to the majority of families. A midwife is educated to give all necessary care throughout pregnancy, childbirth and the newborn period and believe that childbirth is a normal and significant life event for women and their families. For more information contact their offices on (021) 406 6449 or visit www.activebirthza.com We were also joined by Dr Davie van Velden and we were talking about Physical Activity. Being physically inactive is a problem. Lack of exercise is a risk factor for both heart disease and high blood pressure. In comparison to those people who exercise regularly, inactive people have twice the risk of suffering a heart attack and thre...

With an extra public holiday, there was lots to do in and around the city here on Sakhisizwe we had some interviews to help you decide what to do. We were joined by Tucan Tucan a group of musicians with different cultures and nationalities which brings on their unique sound. They spoke about their weekly Friday night performance at Mojo Jazz Café in Observatory. If you want any information about the band visit their website on www.tucantucan.co.za PIC: www.tucantucan.co.za Christine Crouse who is the Artistic Manager of a production called Werther which is staged at the Artscape Opera House. Werther is directed by Staffan Aspegren and performances starts in June. If you would like to know more about this well loved production - call the Artscape at 021 410 9800 or book at Computicket. Nigel Vermaas then joined us to give his weekly arts update of events happening in and around the city. Then lastly we had Deon Lotz who is one of the actors from the theatre production Kringe in ‘n Bo...

On this weeks Labour slot, which is on the same day that we commemorate the workers who contribute siginificantly to our society, we spoke to Leonard Gentle about May Day – or Workers Day. Leonard is the Director of the International Labour Research and Information Group. ILRIG as it is also known is an NGO that provide education, publications and research for the labour and social movements in South and Southern Africa. Visit their website on www.khanyacollege.org.za We were then joined in studio by Mack Manuel who is a Labour and Human Resources Consultant who spoke to us about the role of a union. Mack is also the owner of MC Consulting Services which offers labour consulting, training, and labour relations services. So if you want to contact Mack you can do so by phoning him on 083 533 5726 or email mcmack@webmail.co.za