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This book is a memoir, testimony that true love conquers all. It came about this year, based on many afternoons with Henk De Jong, who reminisced and told me the story of his life and marriage. Engaged as ‘listening ear’ and co-author, I can look back on the rewarding process that resulted in this book. Michael Stretton, of Marine Litho Book Publishers in Port Elizabeth, ensured that it presents beautifully. At Easter, in his home in Beachview, I met Henk De Jong. He was heartbroken over the unexpected death of his wife. Deeply distressed, he began to diarise memories of their…

Dear friends, it was April when I wrote you about the IGems engineering students and their contagious enthusiasm for life. What has happened to you in this half a year since? Trying to recall when I last consciously thought about hope, a morning in July stands out, when I found an in memoriam to a respected and loved member of our town’s medical professionals: paediatrician Dr John Wickens. He succumbed to COVID-19. The news of his passing suddenly put him alive and well in my living room, surrounded by parents and their children. They had formed a support group of…

They were all frowning with concentration, at their desks, writing notes and drawing their poster. The team of young men and women were invited to present a time of strength in their life and to describe in detail what they felt particularly proud of. Their quiet concentration gave me a chance to look at everyone. To try and read the faces half hidden by the masks. One young man’s expression showed maturity beyond his years, some lines maybe a mark of hardship. He was the one to jump up, keen to be our first presenter. He could not wait to…

  Amidst all our stress and disruption due to the pandemic, clients tell me that they don’t want to set goals and make plans for 2021 anymore… ‘Because nothing goes according to plan anyway.’ The lyrics of John Lennon “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans” take on new meaning! Indeed, having a plan is not our guarantee to be able to control everything. Inevitably change will happen while we are ‘en route’ to the next goalposts. I like to think of my plan as my steering wheel. While underway to reach the place where I want…

My 4th Strategy of Hope letter is about hope alongside fear. The year 2020 has slipped through our fingers. But it may, well for a long time, remain locked in our collective memory. The prediction that we face its impact on our mental health as a ‘second pandemic’, thereby increasing levels of anxiety, depression and PTSD is not a happy anticipation to start 2021 off with. It spreads its cloak of fear, threatening to obscure the potential and the newness of the year we have ahead. No super-spreader is faster than fear. I have myself come a long way with fears…

A couple of months ago I shared a cup of hope with you. The weeks appear to fly by in spite of all the Covid-19 drama and tragedies. I find myself paging through the diary, reviewing what has happened since September. My viewfinder, scanning for the positives, zooms in on one particular afternoon. It was the first time, since eased lockdown restrictions, that I was invited to facilitate a team afternoon. Not on zoom – but in real life! In a well-sanitized venue, tables and seats were arranged so widely ‘socially distanced’ that we had space in between for a…

The pandemic’s distancing regulations have a strange effect: turning companions into strangers. We are not powerless and do not have to let this happen! Let us check the Latin dictionary: the word ‘socius’ actually means ‘companion’ and ‘social’ refers to the connectedness between people, sharing community spirit. A remarkable characteristic of the Covid-19 pandemic ideology is the naming of the human contact-safety behaviour as ‘social distancing’. For sure keeping apart, avoiding gatherings, hugs, handshakes and touch, sanitizing, wearing masks, speaking through a shield – are all foremost physical acts. They are not social as such. We can feel close to someone…

We are still in the throes of a time marked by fear of illness or poverty for many. Some of us are fighting for their health or coming to terms with the death of someone close. While going through these testing times together as humans, we need strategies of hope. Lament and despondency do not lead us forward. Neither will faith in the future be inspired by governance that increasingly appears like an over-medicalized coup d’état. Fear, panic and anxiety – like a veldfire – tend to spread rapidly, fanned daily by updates and pandemic talk of an invisible global…

Tuesday was the start of the Unity for Africa Foundation’s special programme: 3 day Work-Readiness Induction. It’s part of an employment initiative iGems (Incubating Great Engineering Minds) aimed at students who have an interest in engineering – specifically those from low-income households. The entire programme relies on collaboration between our local industry and society. I had the opening session: Introducing Strategies for Career Management. Hats off to founder Berenice Rose and programme co-ordinator Ryan Karshagen! Thank you for making me a part of this wonderful experience and for the opportunity of spending time with this truly talented group of young people. Unity for Africa…

If you wonder if perhaps by now South Africa’s yearly Women’s Day functions and celebrations have gone a little stale, you should have witnessed this vibrant occasion-with-a-difference! Port Elizabeth’s ABSA Women’s Day Brunch Convention captivated and energised everyone. Even the few men in attendance! Meet the women who made the ABSA Women’s Day Function an empowering experience: Niqui Cloete-Barrass Amanda Faku Punki Modise Estelle Cunningham Niqui Cloete-Barrass embraced us in her cabaret ambiance and, with her inimitable MC style, took us through a morning filled with informative speeches, wit, some Swarowsky treats, food and lots of laughter. Niqui is PE’s Boost…