Africa for beginners but Africa nonetheless
Peace and Blessings be with you.
I am back from Morocco now for 1 week and 2 days. Before I left Cape Town I launched an online publication called bridge. It is the beginning of many more collaborations I hope to participate in, in the future.
Salaam,
Yasser
Peace and Blessings.
So i have finally figured out how to make the pdf available to folks.
On the way to becoming an independent publisher!
Salaam,
Yasser
Peace and Blessings be with you.
It has been a while since my last post, too long says the little voice in my head! Well we all have this thing called life to engage with, and in the process we neglect certain things in favour of others. I have recently started studying Film at an incredible institute in Cape Town called SAE, and this only happened through a good friend emailing me about scholarships which consequently fell into my lap!
This post however, looking past the digression/excuse above is about streamlining, focussing, and using the resources at hand to try and make something from something. I don’t know how many of you have actually had the pleasure of sitting at my Ma’s large round table at our old house in Bo-Kaap? Well the penny finally dropped, and i realised that this incredible resource ( my Ma) is tremendously under publicized, and here i am referring specifically about her culinary skills!
The First Product !
I have taken it upon myself to market her products and with you help sell as many as possible! There is a face book group that is in the process of appearing soon, which we wish to use to market her chutney’s, sauces, and eventually pastries and meals!
The Dhanya (Coriander ) and Almond Chutney is a sweet tangy chutney, that is perfect for savory pastries and samoosa’s, though last night we had it with a potato mince bake!
The spice grinder I used for the label used to belong to my grandmother, so i am guessing its at least 50 years old, though it could easily be older.
And yes, “nobody beats Ma’s Chow”!
Please feel free to order, and I will arrange pick up , delivery point! The chutney is going for R20.00.
Salaam,
Yasser
Peace and Blessings be with you.
This post serves to be a reminder to myself first and for most, and then to all of you out there who know, and recognize how Blessed we all are, and who in that knowledge recognize there are some who are not as fortunate as ourselves.
This is also a call to mobilize that part in us that naturally is attracted to the universal realities of social justice, and playing our part in making the world we live in a better place.
We all have skills, abilities that we are sometimes not even aware of. Those that we are aware of can be put to use for the betterment of our fellow human beings in more ways than we can imagine. In my own way, I understand that using these skills for other than self, is a way of showing Gratitude for what we have been Blessed with. It is my intention to raise awareness about specifically AlNoor Orphanage in Woodstock, but also to lift the lid off the possibilities of finding institutions, social centers, community workshops where we can volunteer our time, energy, efforts in a way that is enriching to others and ourselves. In fact, it is a selfish and self centered activity in the final analysis, as the Universal Law says that what you put out, will come back to you many fold.
I met Amina about 5 years ago, through a cousin of mine who actually works as a lawyer, but raises funds, and organises food parcels which she then gets all the cousins and their children to distribute to the poor during the month of Ramadan. I did a photo essay of Alnoor, which got published in a local newspaper. Amina, if I remember correctly is Nigerian, and has been living in this country for, and this is a guess, at least 10 years. She has been the driving force behind the orphanage since its inception. Sometimes one meets people who inspire because of their personality, their presence, their oratory… in her case, it is her matter of fact approach to what she is doing. She mentioned to me once, that as a mother herself, she has not choice in the matter. Who will take care of these children?Where will they go?
One of the men who has been helping at the orphanage for as long as i know about it. Embarrassingly I have momentarily misplaced this brother’s name…
The age of the children range from 4 years to the oldest boy who is almost 18. The orphanage is about 6 mins drive from Cape Town central, and situated behind the Woodstock hospital.The children are engaged in many meaningful classes and workshops, from gardening, computer literacy to sewing.
There is quite a large open space at the premises for those involved in physical training or sports, or for a organic garden for those who have knowledge of permaculture/ vegetable gardening.
The sewing workshop also produces clothing and bags which the Alnoor sells to raise funds. So if you find yourself on the other side of the world, and would like to support by purchasing a bag, then please wait for their website details at the end of this post, or contact me through my blog.
and …
I would like to take the opportunity again to make sure that you understand that taking an hour out of your Sunday to come and read for the kids for example is something that Amina would welcome open heartedly. She did mention to me that some of the older boys are of the age where they can apply for their drivers license, so if anyone wants to give driving lessons. Basically the sky is the limit to what help one can actually offer. The fashion designers out their could do pattern cutting workshops, help develop a product range , etc. etc. etc.
A canvas print of the first image of this post is available for sale in an edition of 20, all proceeds to go to AlNoor.
Now for the details:
POSTAL ADDRESS:
P.O. BOX 1801
CAPE TOWN 8000
RESIDENCE ADDRESS:
OPPOSITE WOODSTOCK DAY HOSPITAL
BOUNDED BY 15 MELBOURNE RD & VICTORIA WALK
TEL:+27 21 447-8472 ,FAX:+27 21 447 3644,
Email: alnoororphanagecentre@yahoo.com
Website: www.alnoororphanage.org.za
“An orphan, destitute and disadvantaged is My child, and your child”
Quran 3:103
Salaam.
Yasser
Peace and Blessings be with you.
I have a friend, were i to have grown up where he did, we would be of the same ‘age set’. Miyere is Maasai, and he walked from Kenya almost 6 years ago if i am not mistaken. I met him while working for the Mail & Guardian. He came to protests to highlight the plight of the Maasai with regards to landownership, taken from them Fraudulently and enshrined in a Colonial 99 year contract which expired around 6 years ago.
Many of you may know the details of Miyere’s Mission, but if you don’t this is a quick catch up…
Arrived in Cape Town, became an activist for minority rights, and a subversive commentator on youth and land related policies implemented by democratic governments all over Africa, especially those related to borders and visas, even passports. He believes, as do his ancestors, that the Land, the Air, the Waters cannot be someone’s possession, owned, the notion is ridiculous!
With help from loyal friends he organised a multi media exhibition titled “No Borders” the following image we made was for the publicity posters.
Miyere left for Durban, on the East Coast of S.A to spread his particular Brand of activism. He attempted to walk back home from Durban, but had to turn back in the realisation that it was to dangerous for a detractor of the Kenyan Government to be walking exposed, especially after he was beaten, kidnapped and put in the boot of a car and driven to the middle of the bush! He returned to S.A, Durban, and started working closely with the Street Kids, whom he recognises as a minority group, and quite a creative, resourceful and resilient one at that, at the same time they are woven into the fabric of the future of our societies.
Simply put, when we as a society of parents, brothers, and sisters can allow the phenomenon of Street Kids to continue to exist unabated, without extending a helping hand, then we need to question ourselves, and this is in a nutshell,my understanding of what “the ultimate walk for humanity “is about.
It is about Miyere walking from Cape Town to Cairo, and gathering a tribe of supporters in flesh and blood, and online. It is about mobilising as much people as we can to walk with him, even if it is only for an hour, the ultimate journey for all of us is our own life.
The walk calls us to question who we really are, and what contribution we as unique individuals can make, to better the world we live in.
As unique as our fingerprints, our DNA, are our abilities, and characters. The notion of competition in such a paradigm has no place.
for more background information on Miyere have a look at http://www.maasaiwarrior.com .
for more information on the ultimate walk…
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ultimate-Walk-For-Humanity/137655289597420?ref=ts#!/pages/Ultimate-Walk-For-Humanity/137655289597420?v=info&ref=ts
for those of you on FB.
The ultimate walk is about activating your creativity and your activism.
Salaam.
Yasser
It would be very interesting to watch the development of this massive project,
Peace and Blessings be with you.
Two days ago i went past a friend of mine in St.Georges Mall, Carlo Randall, the Bush Doctor. As per usual we exchange greetings and recent developments and news about mutual friends and most importantly plans for the future.
Carlo has had his stall in the mall for at least 5 years now, and is a regular stopping point on my many walks through the city. He has travelled extensively through Southern Africa, and it was on his journey that he discovered his passion of healing, and the connection that the herb lore that he found so fascinating was the product of knowledge passed down from the San people ( Bushmen) who boasts one of the oldest cultures on the planet.
In Cape Town, on the Grand Parade for example, the market that existed from the beginnings of the city, one can find an old lady who also sells indigenous medicinal herbs, who was taught by her mother, and her mothe and her mother …. The herbs one finds in Cape Town and surrounds come from the Floral Kindom known as Fynbos. I say Floral Kingdom as it is a singular Floral Kingdom all on its own, 1 of Six in the entire world, and it is located only in the Western Cape!
Buchu (Boegoe) is from the same group that the now world famous Rooibos tea is from. Used predominantly as a tea, for various conditions including Kidney and Urinary Tract infections, Rheumatism, loss of appetite and to aid digestion. It can also be used externally when soaked in vinegar as a poultice.
Anti inflammatory bulbs of intense smelling garlic. They can also be sliced up and steeped to make a potent if not vicious smelling tea that will be as good for you as it is strong smelling. I used to cook with it, as a confirmed lover of garlic, but word to the wise would be the recommendation to , once cut, seal it in a original tupperware TM. [:)!] container, and then wrap that in cling plastic, and that in a brown paper bag, and that in a black plastic bag! The Wild mountain garlic is good for using to stave off colds and flu’s (as well as vampires!) , chest infections, rheumatism and is known to improve blood circulation.
In today’s age we have, as humanity drifted far from the natural and available remedies and medicines that our forefathers depended on, and perhaps its time that we start re integrating the philosophy of natural healing into our lives.
Traditionally used to purify a space from unfriendly spirits, to celebrate the beginning of a new venture, Mphepo is also know to be very good for conditions related to the Central Nervous System, Stomach Ulcers, Bladder problems, and general relaxation.
I am off to see my medicine man!
Salaam.
Yasser
Peace and Blessings be with you.
I went to the launch of a photo exhibition at the Michael Stevenson gallery in Woodstock last night where I saw the striking photographs of Pieter Hugo, depicting images one of Africa’s largest landfill sites for computer parts, just outside of Accra, Ghana. It is with the remaining feelings of urgency, injustice and anger at the atrocious living conditions of the people who live off the burning heaps of outdated mother boards from the “developed” world that I proceed to laud the efforts of the City Of Cape Town to challenge the perceptions of the inhabitants of Cape Town about what they regard as waste.
Having visited Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Parow, Edgemead, Cape Gate and then the Golden Acre the City of Cape Town embarked on a drive to educate the public on Recycling.
I spoke to the people manning the stand and discovered that in South Africa, Cape Town is taking the lead in rolling out the dual bin system in order to encourage an awareness about the kind of litter they throw away, and therefor the kind of “waste” they are consuming when they purchase plastic bags, containers etc.
Cape Town has not by a long shot reached the sophistication or efficiency it is capable of with regards to waste separation and recycling, and this is still a long way off, but the start made by the city shows the commitment and initiative that is required to eventually reach this point.
At the moment there are not enough public incentives to recycle, and this should be addressed, and researched with regards to formalizing the structure and channels that exist already in the form of the urban caravans of the “bergies” and homeless people that punctuate the cityscape. There must be a great potential for job creation and the restoration of dignity that comes with employment. I do think that This City has the capacity to overcome the barriers to creating employment for the destitute already involved in recycling. The under utilized infra structure in the city for example could be transformed into collection points, tax and other incentives could be offered to the private sector to set up businesses with the directive of collecting, transporting, and recycling the waste from the many existing business in the CBD for a start.
With the global necessity of sustainable growth, renewable energy, and recycling, the potential for a very profitable sector awaits. Job creation and developement is a natural consequence. The skills intrinsic to many of our people can be put to good use to further add value to “waste”.
There is enough potential within our ranks to maintain a high level of excitement about our collective future, as well as maintaining the status of Proudly South African People, the oft forgotten source of our amazing heritage and our incredible Destiny!
Salaam,
Yasser .
Peace and Blessings be with you.
Last night saw the final match of the first African World Cup being won by Spain!
At the same time it saw the first Vuvuzela Drag race in the world!
Hate it or Love it, I think it may be fair to say that the Vuvuzela will be around for a long time, and it would be accurate to say that it will be very difficult to get rid of.
Salaam
yasser
Peace and Blessings be with you.
The Khayelitsha Public Viewing Area started filling up at least 3 hours before the game that would see Bafana Bafana bow out of one of the biggest sporting spectacles on the planet, in the Universe!
People arrived in full flower, kitted to the 9’s with their Makarapa’s ( i may not have spelt this correctly) which is a construction workers hard hat, ingeniously cut to have an automatic head bound banner showing the team that you support.
We were very fortunate to be Blessed with a sunny day, which bode well for us if one were into omens and he like, good to see then that people came prepared with their sunglasses, even if they made it them selves!
The national pride expressed by the crowd that fateful yesterday was touching, regardless which camp you belong to, ie. the ” bringing our nation together” or the ” how can they spend all the billions on all the preparations for this one month long event and still have hospitals without sufficient ambulances”.
The beginning of the game saw people flooding into the O.R.Tambo Hall, the cheering and Vuvuzela’s at the scoring of the first goal was truly deafening!
In the end the boys won the game, a little too late for to secure a place in the next round. I can tell you that there were many a heartbroken supporters in the crowd. The victory of South Africa was only overshadowed by the departure of the host nation from the competition.
May we continue to host our visiting guests with helpful courtesy, sincere friendliness, and the rest of the qualities that South Africans are famous for, regardless of the reason they are here!
Salaam.
Yasser
Peace and Blessings be with you.
There are things we all possess that if one were to put on a table at a flea market one would not necessarily sell them for large amounts of money, though to each of us there is a value attached to this specific thing, an association or memory that comes with a value that cannot be traded as its intrinsic value is the human experience in the transaction of life. The beauty of a moment is its transient existence in a continuos stream of moments where one is witness to the thoughts and feelings of ones self in this large sometimes overwhelming life.
where i am going with this was explained in the previous attempt at writing this blog, which took me less than an hour, but was lost into the ether never to be recovered, despite me seeing the autosave flicker numerous times!!
What I am trying to say, is that in todays age ( honestly not trying to sound like a high school principal singling out mischief makers in front of the entire assembly) we do very similar things to survive ( especially with regards to clean dishes, clean clothes and water plants given to us by loved ones) that besides the high swinging hard hitting philosophical reasons for us respecting, greeting, protecting and sharing a smile with each other, aren’t the littler ones enough?
Salaam.
Yasser
Yasser Booley's Blog 