Last Update: Jan. 7, 2001
Last Update: Jan. 7, 2001 |
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One man's "dream" - healing children in the African wilderness
Conceptualised by one man's dream and the collective support of many, AFRICAN KNIGHTS is committed to using the African wilderness, her people, wildlife, wide open spaces and inherent beauty, to assist in the healing, education and development of disadvantaged children from southern Africa and around the world. The words "African Safari" conjure up visions of a magical journey into a primitive, untamed animal kingdom of sights and sounds beyond the imagination. For many, such an adventure is the stuff of dreams. Until now... 
Based in Cape Town, the organisation intends using overland safari vehicles to take groups of 20 children, their teachers and/or careworkers on sponsored camping safaris deep into the African wilderness visiting the many exquisite national parks and game preserves of southern Africa. African Knights hope to make what has until now been an experience of the privileged, a dream come true for those less fortunate. Those set to benefit most from this life embracing venture include; orphaned and abused children, teenagers recovering from drug addiction and "at-risk" youth — often the result of increased urbanization.
It's a sad fact but most children today grow up in cities with little or no knowledge of the natural world beyond the concrete urban sprawl they call home. It's a grave irony, that in a world where we are trying to educate our children about protecting the natural environment few actually get to see what we are talking about! Can we really expect them to respond without giving the benefit of the experience? African Knights believe that being exposed to an experience of this nature as a child has many important educational and personal developmental benefits. They believe that such an early experience can: 1.) Promote a better understanding of the natural world and a healthy respect for her fragile eco-systems. 2.) Educate children about the diversity of other cultures. 3.) Act as a natural healing process for children who may be suffering from trauma. And what better place than Africa's magnificent animal and plant kingdom? 
THE AFRICAN KNIGHTS WORLD CHALLENGE In their quest to brighten the lives of disadvantaged children in southern Africa and from around the world, African Knights ask's individuals, communities, schools and business to please make a donation (of any amount) towards this worthwhile cause. Their immediate goal is to raise sufficient capital to build and equip their first overland vehicle to be put into service by April 2001. The cost of building a fully equipped overland vehicle complete with camping equipment for 24 persons is R300 000 (US$ 40 000, UK 26 000). For more info and details on how you can make a donation please visit their website at www.africanknights.org or email keith@africanknights.org © RSA-Overseas [ Top ]  Kytie Koekblik ColumnIlda Jacobs Washington D.C. - Dit was weereens daardie gevoel dat jy in 'n film leef. Ek het my voordeur oopgemaak en om my was die wereld wit in die donker. Ek het my serp stywer om my mond getrek om daardeur asem te haal en versigtig die trappies afgeloop, elke tree het onder my bootse geknars. 'n Goeie dik laag sneeu, soos 'n wit droom. In my tuin, oor my trappe, op my sypaadjie, in my straat. "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas" het die liedjie in my kop gespeel, en ek wou huil van blygeit. Elke liewe boom was spierwit, geseën met 'n lagie dun sneeu op die tak-arms wat wit in die donker lug in waai. Die hele buurt het geslaap. Geen karre of mense buite nie, net die stil wit sneeu wat oor strate, karre, bome, bosse en dakkie gaan lê het. Al die speelgoedhuisies se vrolike kersfeesliggies het gebrand. Dit was die eerste nag van die eerste sneeu van hierdie koue, koue winter. Dit was nagdonker, voor trokke met sout en padskrapers die wêreld kom skoon maak het sodat die lewe in D.C. kan aangaan. Dit was mooi, so mooi. Asof die wereld skielik sag en skoon geword het. Dit was 'n paar dae voor Kersfees, en die sneeu het almal om my in 'n vakansie-bui gesit. Washington kry nie gewoonlik sneeu oor die Kerstyd nie, 2000 was dus 'n spesiale kersfees in 'n spesiale jaar. Die sneeu was ook 'n kuur teen my akute homesickness oor die krismistyd. My wit kersfees, ver van die huis en klein dorpies met rooi grond in die ou Transvaal en die bont sambrele op die strande en die bytende water van Blouberg en ma se krismis-ete oukersaand en pa se braaivleis op 'n somersmiddag. Die tyd van die jaar is gewoonlik warm somervakansie tyd in Suid-Afrika, maar vanjaar was dit net die sneeu wat my dae se trae verloop kon onderbreek. Skielik was ek weer opgewonde om soggens na die koue tien minute na die ondergrondse trein toe te loop. My lang oggend-gesig het weer 'n effense vonkel in die oog gehad toe ek wakker word en deur my dakvenstertjie die sneeu op die bure se dak sien. My clean slate, so kort voor die nuwe jaar. My movie-wêreld. Dit maak my soms hartseer, die movie-wereld waaraan ek so met hart en siel vasklou sodat die realiteit nie sy aaklige kleur van blink motors en ambisieuse besigheidspakkies en network-events en sushi-bars en skoon strate en Washington kan wys nie. Ek mis daai lewe en kleur van Suid-Afrika. Hier bring elke weersverandering 'n breek van realiteit. Elke ekskuus vir 'n verandering in my roetine jag ek, soos 'n drug-addict hoop ek daar lê om elke hoek en draai 'n kick,'n trippie iewersheen vir die naweek, 'n besoeker by ons voorstedelike huis, 'n event wat nie 'n networking opportunity is nie, 'n onderbreking van my dodelike suburban lewe. Die "regte" lewe sluk my so gou in as ek elke dag my roetine volg, 'n cappuccino voor werk, 'n haastige hardloop deur die badwater, 'n vyf minute treinrit te kort om 'n vinnige slapie te vang, 'n busrit waar ons almal met lang gesigte sit en mekaar se oë vermy. Daarom is dit my enigste nuwejaars voorneme die jaar, om nie toe te laat dat die daaglikse sleur my onderkry nie. Om nie heeltyd te wroeg oor bills en rent en werksdruk en 'n identiteit as Suid-Afrikaner in Amerika nie. Kuilsrivier is immers net soos Grahamstad is immers net soos Washington. 'n Lewe, wat jy eers waardeer as jy dit nie meer het nie. Ek wil dus in 2001 heeltyd 'n movie maak in my kop, sing as ek in die strate loop met my gedagtes en 'n dag se druk wat voorlê. Ek wil NOOIT toe laat dat ek net soos enige lang gesig op 'n trein voel nie. Ek wil elke oomblik met elke my sintuig belewe, sodat alles spesiaal voel. Ek het onder andere een simpele plan, om soos 'n nar aan te trek en werk toe te loop asof daar niks vreemd is aan my nie. Om almal vriendelik te groet, en miskien met mense te gesels op die treine, want niemand praat mos met mekaar nie. Dalk laat ek iemand lag vir die dag, dalk change ek the course of the ebb and flow of the underground. Wat ookal. Kytie Koekblik se voorneme is om nie gewoond te raak aan my nuwe lewe hier in die VSA nie. Almal sê mos as jy by die Berg woon, sien jy hom nie in al sy majestieuse wonder nie. Trek weg, en daai Berg verteenwoordig als in jou geheue, 'n land, 'n provinsie, 'n kinderlewe, 'n agterplaas op 'n swaai. Dit word selfs simbolies.. Of as jy soos ons vir 17 jaar in Kuilsrivier woon en slegs strand toe gaan as die Transvalers kom kuier. Ek was nog nie eers by al die museums in Washington D.C. nie. Basta dus daarmee, hierdie jaar gaan ek hier onder hierdie Amerikaners inklim. Ek gaan kliphard Afrikaanse Sondagskoolliedjies en Wielie-Walie sing en met myself soos 'n mal mens in Afrikaans praat, want niemand kan my verstaan nie, en dit is 'n situasie om uit voordeel te trek. Kytie K. Kytie Koekblik would like you to respond to her tongue-in-cheek running commentary on suburban life in America in this editorial. Fresh off the boat, she is ready to explore and experiment with American bath plugs and to drive on the other side of the road. You can contact her here. © RSA-Overseas & Matheson Communications [ Top ] 100 million calls in SA over new year South Africans made a staggering 100 million cellphone calls on Christmas Day and at least as many on January 1, giving new meaning to the phrase "ringing in the new year". Cellphone network Vodacom said more calls were made in December than in any month since cellphones were introduced in South Africa six years ago. At times Vodacom and MTN were so busy that callers could not get through. Millions of people clogged the networks phoning friends and relatives and sending short message service (SMS) Christmas and New Year wishes. The busiest time was around midnight on New Year's Eve. Hundreds of thousands of new cellphone users were connected to the networks last month. Joan Joffe, Vodacom group executive for corporate affairs, said December had been the company's best sales month. Forecasts of 400 000 new connections were exceeded. More than nine million SMS messages and 45 million calls were handled on the Vodacom network on Christmas Day and a similar number on New Year's Day. In the hour starting at midnight on December 31 there were about 7,5-million calls and about 1,8-million SMS attempts. Yvonne Muthien, MTN corporate relations executive, said the Christmas period was an excellent one for MTN and sales had been good. More than 250 000 prepaid and contract sales had taken the subscriber base to well over three million. Network traffic over Christmas and New Year was very heavy, particularly in SMS messages. Muthien said the network's capacity at major holiday destinations such as Cape Town and Durban had been boosted to cope with the anticipated increase in call traffic over the festive season. "There has been a rapid increase in consumer use of SMS messaging in South Africa over the past year. This is in line with international trends. In Europe nearly 70% of cellular traffic is in data as opposed to voice-call format. Towards the end of 2000 our network was handling 140 million SMS messages a month." Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] End of holidays death toll 851 The national road death toll since the summer holidays began on December 1 reached at least 851 by noon on Sunday and was expected to climb with the big rush home underway. The road safety campaign, Arrive Alive, said it expected traffic volumes to peak late on Sunday afternoon on all the country's major routes. Most of working South Africa was returning to offices, factories and other workplaces on Monday and the weekend was the latest they could return home. KwaZulu-Natal traffic authorities said every available traffic officer was out on the roads and roadside courts were fully staffed to deal with offenders in the province. By 2pm, spokesperson Colin Govender said 1 900 to 2 000 vehicles per hour were streaming inland from the coast. Arrive Alive's Links Mudaly said 600 vehicles an hour were counted on the N4 near Nelspruit in Mpumalanga around noon and about 250 on the N1 South near Pietersburg in the Northern Province. Meanwhile, Arrive Alive, said 73 people had died on the country's roads since January 1, adding to the 778 reportedly killed by December 31. This year, 19 people have died on KwaZulu-Natal's roads, 15 in the Eastern Cape and fourteen in Mpumalanga. Eight died in the Northern Cape, seven in Gauteng, and five in the Northwest and Western Cape respectively. So far there have been no fatal accidents this year in the Northern Province and the Free State. Mudaly said the worst incidents in the last 24-hours included a smash between two sedans in Mpumalanga that left 10 dead and a collision in the Eastern Cape that killed five. In the first incident, two sedans, each with five occupants, collided on a road between Ermelo and Bethal at about 5.30pm on Saturday. In the second incident, a car attempted to overtake a bus along the N2 between Grahamstown and Peddie around 7pm on Saturday and ended up underneath the larger vehicle. Five of the six people in the car died - including two children - leaving a three-year-old child as the only survivor. Arrive Alive said speeding, drunk driving, driver fatigue and pedestrian jay walking continued to be the main human factors responsible for the road carnage. Mechanical faults and road conditions also played a part. It also advised motorists to travel by day rather than at night, as statistics indicated that night drivers were twice as likely to be involved in fatal accidents than those driving by day Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] Brave mother saves baby from hijackers A brave 28-year-old mother and her baby sustained several injuries during a fight with two men who attempted to hijack her vehicle from the driveway of her home in Highlands North on Saturday night, Johannesburg police spokesperson Sergeant Amanda Roestoff reported. In an interview on Sunday, the bruised and battered woman, who asked not to be identified, said the traumatic turn of events started when she arrived home and pulled into her driveway. "I noticed a cat lying in the centre of the paving. I left the baby in his front seat, left the car on with the key in the ignition and jumped out to try and move the cat away. "I thought I would have to take the cat to the vet if it was seriously injured because someone may have driven over it and threw it into our driveway," said the victim. The woman said as she picked the cat up she realised it was already dead and just then two men walked past the house and then sprinted back into the driveway. She said: "One assailant pointed a firearm at me and before I could get my baby out they were in the car and ready to drive away. I ran in front of the car and tried to stop them, begging all the time for them just to hand my baby over and then take the car. "The one robber was shaking my baby like a rag doll and I heard them say they wanted to kill my baby. They refused to hand my baby over and I constantly ran in front of the car and they kept bumping me over." "Eventually I managed to run to the driver's seat and jumped on to the lap of the man. "I pulled the key out of the ignition and as I was hitting and fisting both of them in the head and face, the driver pushed me out of my vehicle," said the traumatised woman. The victim said she found herself lying on the road and within seconds she saw them leave the eight-month-old baby on the roadside. "I thought they were driving away because I wasn't certain where the car key was, but the next minute they jumped out of the car and were running down the road." The woman eventually found her keys beneath the car seat. Both mother and child were treated at the Linksfield Clinic for head and body injuries. They were not admitted to hospital. No shots were fired and Sandringham police are searching for the two men who are still at large. Both men are aged between 20 and 25 years. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] © RSA-Overseas & Matheson Communications [ Top ] |
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