Amazing little Angels

It was a pleasure working with Durban Children's Homes. Apart from the workers being very friendly and accomodating, i was touched by how amazing, healthy and happy the children were. The smile on their faces reflected how helpful and what a blessing this organisation is because had they not been there these kids would be out on the streets with no shelter over their heads and no food in their stomachs.

When we got to Amaqhawe care center that houses children from two to eleven years that have chronic illnesses and disabilities during my tour of the home, the children came out running to give me hugs and some even took it upon themselves to become my tour guides. I have to say it was more than a pleasure to work with the Durban children's homes because it opened my eyes to realise that there was more to the world, more to helping the needy and that it could more rewarding.

I hope to continue working with them in the future and that the people that we reached out to during my multi media project will continue helping them as well. i also hope that my ideas and the multi media help i gave them will go a long way and actaully serve a purpose.

Is Durban hip hop dead?

Most people say hip hop in Durban is dead, why do they say that? I ask, the answer I always get is not a satisfying one. They say because these Durban rappers’ lyrics are wack (bad), well did they ever stop to think that hip hop is not just about rapping, it is also about beat boxing, b-boying, krumping, graffiti and now a days even some sports like skateboarding. So if you say hip hop is dead and give the above answer as the reason for your statement, you clearly don’t know your hip hop. Hip hop is a wide culture that has a lot of genres underneath its wings.

There are hardcore rap fans who would like to argue with me and say that the rappers’s lyrical content is not up to standard. Up to whose standard, we surely cannot compare every rapper in this world to Tupac, Jay Z or Biggie smallz, we have to accept every rapper with their style of rap. Mostly we have to accept change, we cannot keep on comparing 2011 rappers with 1996 rappers, things change and so why can’t rap change. Hip hop is a foreign culture but these Durban artists have accepted it and are now working on putting their flavour on it, how are they going to achieve that if we keep comparing them to foreign artists.

These days for these rappers to make it they have to go commercial (bubble gum rap some would say) because the market requires them to do so. If you are not satisfied with the state of rap, please do not crucify the krumpers, graffiti artists, beat boxers etc. for the rappers “mistake” (whatever it is). In other words do not say hip hop is dead, rather you say rap is dead. Be prepared to give a valid reason for your opinion because I am sure your opinion is valued, and make sure the reason is not “you should listen to Tupac if you want to know what rap is”. Please guys do not comment if you know nothing about hip hop because it is offensive to hip hop headz, they are in it because they love the game. This comparing game is old, we need to learn to accept change and to be open minded. If you think rap should stick to what it was years ago and that Durban artists are wack please do us a favour and go get yourself a Tupac or Biggie album and leave those who accept change to it.

Sex workers in South Africa

Health in the sex industry

The South African sex industry has been multiplying by large numbers over the years. My main concern is the health issues in this industry and what the government and NGOs are doing to minimise the spreading of diseases between sex workers and their clients.

 There are many obstacles preventing healthcare workers from reaching this hard to reach sex industry namely legal, social and cultural stigmas, lack of education and discrimination of sex workers. We as a society need to understand sex workers and not be quick to judge and discriminate them because we need them in our fight against sexually transmitted diseases. Most of sex workers are uneducated so therefore they are unable to find proper jobs and they turn to the sex industry, they need to be educated more about diseases and the dangers of this industry so that they can be able to take care of themselves and take part in protecting their clients.  Sex workers also need to get tested as often as possibly, facilities should be accessible for them just like everyone else, they must not be made to feel unwelcome in testing centres and educational facilities.

 There are no research study reports incidence of HIV/STD's amongst sex workers, the Virological data collection studies in the Western Cape however reveal an increase in the 2.5% prevalence of HIV in the province. Sex workers need to be educated more on HIV/AIDS prevention. ‘Marginalising sex workers does very little to AIDS prevention efforts, a safer, healthier sex industry, means a safer, healthier broader society’, says SWEAT. Personally I think this statement is true, we cannot try as a society to conquer the spread of HIV/Aids while we discriminate against the people who are supposedly the “carriers” of the disease.

Loving the toad

We as women dream of meeting the “perfect guy” at some point in our lives. We even imagine the perfect meeting, the lady is just an ordinary Jane and Mr. “Perfect” well lets just say he’s perfect. Eyes meet and instantly you connect, the chemistry is too much and too intense to ignore. He knows you are the one and vice versa, he showers you with sweet little gifts, cooks for you, gives you massages which end up with the two of you in bed (you are so compatible). Mr. perfect not only has eyes for you but he also knows what to say and when, he even finishes your sentences.

Question is can you read his mind and tell him what he needs to hear all the time. We as women tend to expect too much from men that when an almost Mr. perfect, yes I said almost because no one is perfect, stands right in front of you, you will not notice because his jacket doesn’t go well with his jeans. It’s like that Sunday school story of the woman who was promised a visit from God and when he showed up as a homeless man she chased him away simply because he was messing up her beautifully primed yard. Only to find out later that it was actually God but it was too late. It is difficult for most women to find their “perfect” man because they judge man according to their physical attributes. Lets be honest how many good looking guys do you know that have all of the above things.

What matters the most is what is in the inside, that makes him the right guy for you but we never get to see that part because we don’t give ourselves a chance to get to know the “physically less than perfect” man. Lets face it most men are to die for on the outside but a disappointment when it comes to what matters the most, the saying, “don’t judge a book by its cover must have come up from that”. The type of men we read about in Mills and Boon just don’t exist. There can ever be only one Brad Pitt and Will Smith.

What we don’t realise is that, the ones that we run away from are the same men that will love, respect and be loyal to us. Ladies while you are busy chasing Mr. gorgeous from down the street, Mr. perfect from next door is getting away. Lets not even think about “cutting your own diamond” because you can never teach an old dog new tricks. Remember it takes a diamond to cut another.