Blog
Introducing myself and my journal
Writer and Storyteller, bringing Human Rights alive
About Me: Supporting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Agendas, specially through Community Engagement, especially in schools, museums and prisons. Storytelling which brings Human Rights alive.
She decided to nurse John at home after his stroke. She wanted to do it. She was afraid. Fear, fear. Fear of everything. Fear of not being able to understand, fear that she might misinterpret him when his life depended on her understanding. Fear of not being understood by him.
Fear eroded her abilities.
No matter what our age or personal circumstances. I am still feeling guilty about ignoring the suffering of a little boy who was being abused.
“You’ve got a chip on your shoulder”, or “Can’t you take a joke?”.
Common responses when one dares say something in a social gathering,
MESSAGE FROM AN OLD GIRL TO YOUNG'UNS
From a gogo (grandmother) with love ❤️..... “Girls protect yourselves! 85% of our safety lies in our own hands. “
BIG PROBLEMS HAVE BIG SOLUTIONS
This message is a magical story. Please read …. and believe that where the problem is big, the solution is bigger than we could even imagine.
COMPASSION - AN ETHICAL DILEMMA?
Knowing my impulsive, emotional self, what shall I do if a source asks me for money in a needy situaiton?
SAFETY TIPS FOR CHILDREN BY A CHILD
Made by Monica and her granddaughter (5 years old) this video is meant for children to watch and discuss amongst themselves how they can keep safe. Taryn, who is six years old, gives her ideas to other young children about how to keep safe.
It will be of use to every primary school teacher, parent or other adults involved with children. Please send out the link to them. The original is in English and two separate videos have Spanish and French subtitles – see links above.
Saartjie Baartman thought she was going overseas to be a nursery maid. She ended up on display in Europe! She was an ordinary, curious 18 year old, who travelled to a foregn country with all the excitement and expectaion of any young girl, eager to see the big world, eager to earn some money.
Does this still sound familiar 200 years after her death? Listen to her story:
You Tube - English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM-MVdX7sQw - Français: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn94UTcie7I
“Less Words, More Respect” – My Experience with Aphasia. It happened on a lazy Sunday morning.
Suddenly he stared at me blankly, mouth foaming, grimacing lips jumping. Then his body contorted. He fell down and my life as I knew it fell down with him and shattered.
A stroke happens when the blood supply to the brain is cut off, killing brain cells, says the Stroke Association, UK. This happens to about 450,000 people in England each year.
For the rest of his life my John was paralyzed and unable to eat. Worst still, he couldn't speak either. Neither could he read nor write!
RAPE OF GIRLS IN SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS
When I was 21, I married a man who mentored children. He also molested them. I did not know his evil thoughts while I shared his bed, although his physical and sexual abuse of me should have warned me.
It’s scary to open old wounds: I was scared. I became ill. I felt out of place doing an interview. I thought I had understood it all wrongly. The more I pondered this kind of writing, the more I felt that I’m not in my right place
Reflections on our Struggles. Women Speak. 'The mainstream media don't find the stories of our suffering newsworthy, so our struggles remain hidden. Why don't we write our stories for ourselves?' said a quiet voice, one of four women sitting on the floor in a small apartment block thirty years ago.
CHILD PROTECTION WEEK IN THE CAPE FLATS
At www.IProtectMeSouthAfrica.org we believe that the most powerful way to keep children safe is to EMPOWER THE CHILDREN THEMSELVES against abuse.
A big boy pulled 8 year old Gracie by the hair in the Cape Flats, trying to force her into the bushes. She fought him off and got away.
“I did what I PROTECT ME taught me to do,” she said to her teacher in class the next day
Voices from Kandhamal: The life-shattering impact of communal violence on women
The life-shattering impact of communal violence on women
teaches Women and Children self-protection skills
85% of Safety is in our hands. IPM is taking the Rape Bull by its horns in Cape Town, S.Africa
DOLPHIN ANTI-RAPE AND AIDS OUTREACH
About Duncan Bomba of Dolphin Anti-Rape who teaches children self-protections skills. One of his pupils said, “I was almost raped by four men after I’d alighted from a bus in Kangeni. This was at around 7pm and (East African Standard, 9.2.2001)
TO SET UP ANTI-RAPE CLUBS IN S.AFRICA
You might have heard that I'm passionately working to protect children and vulnerable adults in my country, South Africa, joining hands with dedicated community groups there, to stop the rape and abuse of our women and children in SA.
PROMOTING THE SKILLS OF YOUNG PEOPLE
Learn Coding Software for FREE (Ages 8-24)
Learn Coding Software for FREE
#FaithOverFear campaign -- please join and share your story
The world is witnessing the highest levels of displacement ever seen
Map it. End it. Take Back the Tech!
A initiative of the APC Women's Programme, is a collaborative campaign that takes place during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence http://www.cwgl.rutgers.edu/16days/home.html (25 November - 10 December). It is a call to everyone - especially women and girls - to take control of technology to end violence against women.
EMPOWERING WOMEN EMPOWERS NATIONS
“Empowering women powers nations,” declared Robert Zoellick of the World Bank recently.
Nobel Peace Prize 2011 awarded to 3 women for upholding women's rights!
The Nobel Peace Prize 2011 was awarded jointly to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia), Leymah Gbowee (Liberia) and Tawakkul Karman (Yemen) "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for children"
My vision for my life is to use my skills to open the pandora's box of unreported incidents of gender based violence (GBV).
DOMESTIC ABUSE IN SOUTH AFRICA
In S.Africa women are well represented in the government.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE
Claire is the only woman working in a sales team of 10. The team is considered successful with sales figures exceeding targets each month.
He beat me up on our wedding night. I should have left him then, but stayed. That was my first mistake. I'd married a violent, angry man whom I thought I loved.
The world is full of hurt and abuse, of unfairness and of suffering.
WHAT IF NO COMPUTER and NO INTERNET ACCESS ?
I would like to find out how we can reach the millions who have no access to the internet, many of whom are illiterate, but whose voices need to be fed through to those of us who have the tools, like
I am thinking how I can start a Journal of Strength
INTRODUCTION to Cultivating Compassion, ed Pip Hardy and Tony Sumner