Sakhisizwe -Building the Nation - Bou Die Nasie

Charlette Dickson came into studio and warmed it up with her bubbly personality. She gave us a taste of what to expect at the coming up event which she will be performing at. That will be on Saturday 29 June 2019 at The Crypt Jazz Restaurant. Tickets will be R150 and that includes the entry fee and a meal together with being entertained by her beautiful music. Doors open at 19h00 and the entertainment starts at 20h00. More on her career, she is working on an EP, release date will be announced so do follow her. She says we can expect a bit of everything on there from RnB to Hip Hop, so we looking forward to that. Follow her on the below: Instagram: charlette_dickson Facebook: Charlette Dickson

Jay came in to studio to tell us more about his career in photography and what being a photographer involves. Jay started out studying Psychology, he studied it for two years then realized that it was not what he wanted to do so he dropped the course and went off into the working environment. With having been in the working environment he finally decided that he wanted to do something that he actually loved. Just before leaving the working field, when his contract came to an end, he used his last salary to buy a camera. With having that camera he then started playing around with it. Though, he didn't formally study photography, he learnt a lot from YouTube and had other photographers teaching him the ropes. Jay's advice to everyone that is trying to chase passion in our economy is that you have to be persistent, focused, driven, apply yourself and network. To see his work and contact him for bookings: Instagram and Facebook: Jayxxiv

We received some words of wisdom about going from high school to tertiary from Peter Kriel the general manager of IIE (The Independent Institute of Education). Peter spoke about the importance of applying on time to tertiary institutions, before closing dates, and how not to jump into the whole process. It is important to consider what you want to study, then look at which institution offers it and then look in detail as to what the institution offers (how the courses are structured and what comes with it in terms of practical). Very importantly he mentioned how there is no guarantees to weather you are making the right decision in terms of the course to choose. Most young people change the course after the first year. Therefore, it is okay to change your mind. Please do find out when the institution you want to study in will be closing the applications so that you do study. For more information you can visit: www.iie.ac.za

Tshwarelo Sikwana from NYDA spoke to us about the amazing work that the agency does. To start from the beginning, you might be thinking, “what is NYDA”? The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) is a South African governmental agency that was established to tackle youth unemployment. Tshwarelo explained to us that they have different type of programs, such as assisting with CV structuring; personality test – to see which field you might be best suited for when it comes to studying further and working; training – welding, plumbing, etc; and entrepreneurial development. We went into some details with what the entrepreneurial development would entail. This includes mentoring, business planning and advice as well as a grant. This then enables our youth to start their own business and those businesses will be able to hire other young people. Too often, we think we can only ask for help once we have all the pieces of the puzzle together but that is not the case when it

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Leando spoke to us about her experience as a transgender woman. She is a self-taught make-up artist, YouTuber and transgender advocate. As we already know being human in our society is already hard enough because of all the hatred and abuse society gives. Now, being born male and then transitioning to being female, Leando and other transgender people deal with it on an even more intense level. She spoke to us about how sometimes even your own family turns their back on you because of you've decided to live your truth and be your most authentic self. Government does not support transgender people as much as they should, their staff is unwilling to help and will at times misgender you on purpose. "We are being raped and killed on a daily and there isn't enough coverage on that", she mentioned this in the conversation about what it is like living as a transgender person in Africa. She says that transgender people just want to live and be respect as any other p

Today we had Sivenathi Ntshwanti, founder of Men United in our studio. Men United is an organisation facilitating talk groups for men that committed domestic violence. Sive shared his personal history. He beated his girlfriends a couple of years ago. After their child was born he realised he was wrong. He felt the need to talk about the wrong he did and invited other guys to talk about the issue. With his talk groups he wants to get guys talking, not only about domestic violence but also daily life. He made also a documentary about it called 'Men United', trying to create more awareness about domestic violence. The talk groups got a lot of attention, there is a core group of some 8 guys but sometimes the group gets as big as 20 guys. Sive also got negative reactions, because he is not including women in the talk groups. But he thinkgs then that the effect of guys finally freely speeking about the actions they did, their emotions, ... would go away. But he likes to make M

 Apart from the feature we played today we also had people from Reclaim The City coming in our studio. Shamila lives in the Woodstock occupation, and Björn is a German anthropologist doing research on RTC. Shamila said it is challenging living in the occupation, coming from a house with space you have to squeeze in an small room now. Shamila got evicted of her previous house because the landlord wanted to sell it. She couldn't afford to rent another house. Like mentioned in the feature, because of gentrification rent prices in Woodstock increase to a level that people who lived their for generations can't afford anymore.  Interestingly, the security provided by the city (to look after the building, not the people) doesn't cover everything. Just last weekend, someone was stabbed in the occupation. But Shamila nevers feel worried or unsafe.  As an anthropologist, Björn spoke how he got involved with RTC and how he sometimes balances between being an activist him

Today on the show we spoke about 'Reclaim The City'. We had two people coming in the studio who are living in the occupations in Woodstock and Green Point. Also Björn, a German anthropologist, was in the studio with us (see the other blog post about the interview). A week ago, Björn, took me to an occupation in Woodstock, Cape Town. Since several years, 'Reclaim The City' has taken over an abandoned hospital in the area. The hundreds of people living there -often victims of gentrification- create a micro society within the walls of the former hospital. I spoke with them about life inside the occupation, being evicted, and, of course, reclaiming their beloved city. See link to feature below.  Pics, text and feature by Dries Hiroux

Today we spoke with Julia Smuts Louw, the scriptwriter for  Sam The Hedgehog , a short animation movie to create more awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorder.  They still need funds to get their movie out! You can find a little teaser and more information on how to support on their website: http://samthehedgehog.com/

Today on the show we will be playing an interview feature on Wilhelm Verwoerd, grandson of the assassinated architect of Apartheid Hendrik Verwoerd.  Wilhelm opens up about his personal life story and joining the ANC. He also speaks on the rainbow nation, meeting Nelson Mandela and, of course, his newest book: "My journey through family betrayels". In these new writings, he tries to find further reconcilation with black South Africans but also with his own long lost family. For more background on the story listen to Sakhisizwe - Building The Nation - Bou Die Nasie from 12-2pm! Listen to the feature below. Text, feature and pic by Dries Hiroux

Rucien Petersen was in studio chatting to us about the Divas & Duets Show. This will be a fundraising event for Rania, who is a 6 year old living with Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral Palsy is a condition marked by impaired muscle coordination (spastic paralysis) and/or other disabilities, typically caused by damage to the brain before or at birth. Though Rania cannot walk, talk or do any basic things as another 6 year old would be able to do, she is a beaming light of happiness. The funds raised from the Divas and Duets Show will enable her to continue receiving treatments and get her things that will make her more comfortable. There is no cure for CP but a comfortable life is the goal and a need. The fundraiser - Divas and Duets Show- will be at Bellville Civic Centre, on Sunday 30 June 2019 at 3pm. You can definitely expect to be entertained by some talented people such as Madeegha Anders, Celeste Dreyer, Ramainer Barreiro - Lloyd, etc. Tickets are R100. For tickets you can con

Today we had Paxton Fielies in our studio!  Paxton Fielies is  a  South African singer, songwriter and Winner of Season 13 Idols South Africa. The 18-year-on was born in Bishop Lavis, Cape Town. She is one of the youngest female personality to win the acclaimed idols award. Watch her sing in video below. Video by Dries Hiroux

Today we spoke about dismissals and what to do when you've been unfairly dismissed. Below are some further details about dismissals:  What is a dismissal? An employer can take these options to dismiss a worker: give the worker notice This means the employer tells the worker to leave work after a certain period, like a week or more. The worker must get wages for the time he or she worked, plus any leave pay (if he or she has not taken all the leave that is due). The worker will not get notice pay. Or give the worker notice pay (this is also called  payment in lieu of notice)            This means the worker leaves immediately and is paid out instead of getting notice. The notice pay must be for as long as the notice time required, for example 1 week's pay instead of 1 week's notice. The payment must include the value of payment in kind. So the worker must get wages for the hours worked, plus any leave pay, plus payment in lieu of notice, or payment for acco

We had Jarryd, Denzil and Blake from 2nd Chance today on the studio talking about his programmes, uplifiting youth and children from substance abuse. They offer free therapy sessions to get people back on the right track. Also companies can follow their courses. They don't offer regular talk sessions but offer sessions with horses or dance sessions. They all share from their personal histories and backgrounds. Interested? Click here . Text by Dries Hiroux

Today we had Leonard Macakathi from the Commission for Gender Equality on the show. He spoke about his work as an education officer on the commission and on what has te be done in the nation.  While South Africa is in the top twenty of best countries in regards to Gender Equality, the country has a lot of work concerning the Gender Payment Gap. Women in SA earn about 28% less then a man in the same job, that is one of the highest percentages in the world. Leonard said it would be a good idea to have quota, that is the fixed implemented percentage of how many women or men you have to have in parliament, the board of your company, ... People that feel discriminated against based on their gender in their working, family, ... environment can always file a complaint with the commission. Their investigation is free of charge. More information here . Text and pictures by Dries Hiroux

On today’s show, we had Ian Zeary from The Hope Exchange.  He spoke about the aim of the organisation, which is to assist the homeless population of Cape Town and restore their dignity.  They center is open daily for showers and provides breakfast on a Wednesday and Thursday every week. They welcome adults from different walks of life. They provide services such as short-term accommodation, skills development and life-skills training. Ian also shared with us some success stories, such as Andile's story. Andile came to Cape Town for economical reasons and found himself homeless. With the assistance of the organisation, he started off sweeping the streets and living at the short term accommodation, to being employed by Amazon and completely independent. It's stories like these that motivate Ian to keep doing what he does. If you're interested in finding out more information about The Hope Exchange or lend a hand you are welcome to contact them on 021 461 55

Today on the show we had some artists of Mzansi Many Rootse One Tree in our studio. Mzansi is a big production with some 40 artists from Cape Town area. They will be performing this Friday 21 June 2019 in Artscape at 19:30. The show offers everything: from jazz, over dance to hiphop. See video below for a little teaser! More information and tickets? Click here . Text & pictures by Dries Hiroux

Yesterday was Youth Day. Still, many youngsters still feel ignored by South African society. One of the initiatives to empower the youth is the free DOCI programme, that gives township youth the chance to make their own documentary under supervision of experienced filmmakers. I spoke with them about their movies, their dreams and how it is like to be young in the rainbow nation. Text, pics and feature by Dries Hiroux

Today Sara Gouveia was on our show talking about her path as a young female documentary maker. She also spoke about her newest film 'The Sound of Masks' and her previous work. Sara was born in Lisbon, Portugal but has been living in Cape Town for 12 years now. Her work focuses on art. With 'Mama Goema', she won the aard for Best SA Documentary at the TriContinental Film Festival in 2011. She also said that it is not always easy for women to get engaged in filmmaking. In documentary making there are a lot of female makers, maybe because for the themes you need more empathy, Sara said. Sara stressed the fact that she thinks it is goed to empower women in making films but that fixed quota may be not a good idea. She always choses the subject first, if women are in the lead that's good but she doesn't underlines it as something necessary. The Sound of Masks is about a Mapiko dancer from northern Mozambique. It played yesterday at Labia for the first time in S

Today on the show we welcomed Gladys Joyce from Angel Wings Cape Town, to speak about the holistic festival she is organising on Monday 17th of June. Angel Wings Cape Town is there for the homeless people, handing out food and clothing to those who need it. Next Monday, Gladys and others will also be organising a holistic festival in Observatory. Entry is R5 and will be used for their projects. There will also be a food drive handing out food and clothes to the homeless in Observatory. More information on here . Text and pics by Dries Hiroux

Today we talked to Mark J. Kaplan, a South African documentary maker who focuses on human rights and social issues. His latest film is called 'Village vs Empire' and tells the story of a genocide on an island close to South Korea. Kaplan told us, as an activist filmmaker, he was deported and in exile for years under Apartheid. With his movies, Kaplan has won several prizes including an Emmy for 'The Lion's Trail'. On the show today he said the content of human rights is very important, because it fills a gap that history in education doesn't always seem to fill. It is a weapon in the struggle against forgetting, he said. We spoke about his film 'The Village Under The Forest', about a forest planted in Palestine by South African Jews. Also his latest film 'Village vs Empire', was a subject of the interview. Kaplan's film is going to be showcased at the Encounters Festival tomorrow at 6.15 PM. On Saturday, a free screening is held at 2 P

Today we aired a movie summary feature. It is about the documentary Cold Case Hammerskjold, that tells a very troubling part of South Africas past of white supremacy and black suppression. Was the South African Institue for Maritime Research spreading AIDS in black communities to install white majority in the continent? Did they, together with a Belgian-British mining company, kill UN Secretary-General Dag Hammerskjold because of his ideology of black self rule in Africa? "Did the South African Institute for Maritime Research (SAIMR) spread HIV in Southern Africa in order to control black population and install white majority? Did they kill UN Secretary General Dag Hammerskjold because they wanted to get rid of his ideology of equality and black self rule for Africa? Or did the Belgians kill him? What about the British or the Americans, that were also looking for minerals in Africa? For this movie summary I spoke with Andreas Rocksén, the head of the research unit behind the

The title above is a statement of Kafui Awoonor, the founder of Holding Space yoga studio in noodstock. She spoke about the benefits of yoga for wellbeing, and also about a seemingly racial boundary around it. She said that you can do yoga everywhere, even for a minute. Just being with yourself and trying to focus on your breathing and meditate is already a form of yoga. It is all about getting your body and mind in balance.  Kafui also stressed the fact that yoga is not only for people with a perfect body, or for white people. The yoga instructors at Holding Space are all black, and most of the particpants are black, but that is an exception, she said. Listen to the full interview below. Text and pictures by Dries Hiroux

Monday is health day and we had Phunyezwa Portia Sifo on our show this afternoon. Very courageous testimony on how she gave birth to her daughter Lelo, a stillborn. With 'Hiking for Lelo' she wants to broaden up the discussion about stillborns and connect grieving parents. Phunyezwa also told us she had a missed-miscarriage before and the after her daughter being chillborn she was on the brink of a depression. With going for hikes in the mountains she could clear her mind. She felt the need to talk about her daughter a lot and started the initiative 'Hiking for Lelo', inviting other grieving parents. It's already the 13th hike now and attendence varies. Sometimes they are 10, sometimes they are 2. The hikes are open to anyone, also for whom has the need to talk about other problems. And even if you don't feel talking or sharing, you are more than welcome. Want more information? Get in touch through here Text and picture by Dries Hiroux

Friday is arts and today we were talking with Gohst, a young female rapper artist from Cape Town. In the studio we listened to two of her songs and spoke about her work and future. Gohst is not really keen on displaying her full identity just yet, she told us. She thinks that it would redirect the focus on the person, while it should be on the music itself. She was influenced by Daft Punk, a European electronic duo whose identity still seems to be remaining a mystery.  To make clear: it is 'Gohst' and not 'Ghost'. She took that way of spelling because the name was already taken on a lot of platforms. Her music mainly focuses on social issues, sometimes personal. Giving up her job to concentrate on music, she hopes she will be able to get paid gigs in the future. She told us that unlike in the United States, where organisers would contact you, she finds it not always easy to get in touch with concert organisers.  She concluded with the advise to always follo

On Wednesday, Dries met up with UCT-professor Hedley Twidle to speak about his new book 'Experiments with Truth'. The book is a summary of case studies and analyses about a new wave of non-fiction and biographies considering South-Africa's remarkable and traumatic past. The interview was cut into a audio story. Listen below.  DUTCH 'Experimenten met waarheid’. Dat is het nieuwe boek van literatuur professor Hedley Twidle. Het is geen academisch boek, maar -zo zegt hij zelf- een liefdesbrief, gericht aan de golf van nieuwe biografieën en non-fictie over de geschiedenis van Zuid-Afrika.  Het is woensdag 5 juni en vanavond stelt de auteur zijn nieuw boek voor in de Book Lounge in Kaapstad. Het regent en ik ontmoet Hedley net voor de voorstelling in een koffiebar in de buurt. AFRIKAANS 'Experiment met waarheid'. Dit is die nuwe boek van literatuur by professor Hedley Twidle. Dit is geen akademiese boek nie, maar -so sê hy self, liewer n liefdesbrief, g

Today in the studio we had Helen Rourke and Conrad Meyer from Development Action Group (DAG). They have been involved with capacity building initiatives to increase urban land management and sustainable development in human settlements. In January they were one of the organisations which have been working on the relocation of residents from the informal settlement in Woodstock's Pine Road to the Pickwick site in Salt River. They relocated some 19 families, Conrad told us in the studio. Important for them was that they got relocated close to their previous settlement, not somewhere outside of the city. Asking about teaming up with the City of Cape Town, Helen Rourke told us that she had never seen so much ambition and work being done on this topic before. She also stressed that what they are providing is transition housing (not temporary housing per say). As this project is about to be finished, they are already looking forward to other projects as their is still a lot of work

Jasnine and Dries had some really interesting talks today about gender in South Africa and Belgium, where Dries is from. Did you know that on the Gender Gap Index South Africa has a better score than Belgium? South Africa is on place 19 while Belgium only ranks 31th out of some 150 countries. The Gender Gap Index is an index that measures inequality in a country on four areas: politics, health, education and economy. South Africa and Belgium both get a green color on the map, which show they are both during relatively well when it comes to gender inequality if you compare to the rest of the world. That South Africa scores better might have something to do with the political rights for man and woman. As South-Africa's constitution is only 25 years old and one of the most progressive in the world. Considering the Apartheid trauma, there wasn't place for any form of discrimination in the new constitution. But if you look at the Gender Pay Gap: South Africa's ranking isn&#

Kaydee Mashile was on our show today, talking about gender problems she faced. Kaydee is a poet and also the founder of a social media consulting agency. She said she encountered a lot of problems setting up her businesses and ideas. Many of the top jobs are still male dominated, but she tries to neglect it and go for her own ideas and doesn't mind speaking out at meetings. On our show, Kaydee spoke that she used her male contacts before to get her into spaces. "It might be weird to admit but I also used my male contacts, because that is sometimes the only way to get a place at the meeting table". She also spoke about the fact that being pretty as a lady could get you into business faster, but that it won't keep you there. Because the brains and qualifications are all that matter in the end. Sadly, as a woman, you are still taken less seriously. Interested in her work? You can contact her on 0723423689! Text and pictures by: Dries Hiroux

DANCE & MINDFULNESS TO CHANGE CHILDREN'S BEHAVIOR Today we had Gadija Sait bringing positive vibes to our studio. Gadija is involved with the Mediation and Dance Assembly Programme, run by WISE (Wellbeing in Schools & Education). They provide dancing and meditation workshops to schools to change behaviour of children.  In their statement WISE says the children they are working with live in vulnerable communities, often experiencing high rates of gansterism, domestic violence, drug abuse and poverty. They then act out in the classroom and on the playground because they don't have the tools to deal with their emotional overwhelm. This also hinders their learning ability, as a stressed child is not able to concentrate. Their programme provides tools to teach vulnerable children essential life skills, such as emotional intelligence, non-violent communication, forgiveness, gratitude and mindfulness.  On Sakhisizwe today, Gadija said that bullying already decrease