The HourGlass with Mbofho

What a year that 2020 turned out to be. On any given year I probably would spend the last day of the year reflecting of the lesson brought upon by the year. I honestly don't even know where to start....I should probably start with what seemed to be 4 weeks of lockdown and take it up 9 months later!!  But do I talk about a deadly virus that shook the whole world? Or Do I focus on how we speculated about how a group of people in Wuhan decided to eat bats or so we are told? Or maybe we can talk about how ill disciplined Europe has been with this virus but that then begs the question of how they managed to evade the other deadly virus (HIV); which seems to have been created for the Southern side of Africa. Without getting into conspiracy theories maybe we should reflect on the French Media Personality, that earlier implied that the new vaccine should be tested on Africans when Europe clearly needed it more than us. But that will just be another never ending debate. We could...

  In recent events, sixteen girls were rescued from a human trafficking syndicate in Kempton Park. The youngest being only 15 years old. Some of these girls were kidnapped and some lured with the promise of getting jobs. First and foremost, there should be a special place in hell for people that use jobs to lure girls into traps. And what kind of human being sells another human being? To exploit people in their most vulnerable and desperate point is just another level of vile. This story just reminded me of two of my friends who also had a similar story that, luckily did not end as bad as how it ended for these 16 girls. Both ladies are currently in the market for a job. The one friend sent me an email from a company that almost seemed legit. Well that's only until you take a closer look that you will see the cracks. I guess she had her own doubts and luckily her guard was up, mostly because she had not applied for the job is was called for. So she sent me the email to vet the comp...

Credits:A Samantha Oor Piece I’m always so worried about the next chapter in my life and I honestly don’t like not knowing what lies ahead in the future but with everything that has been going on in my life I never got the chance to just celebrate the things I’ve achieved thus far. Well I don’t really post much about what I’m doing, when I do it, and whom I’m doing it with I’m soooo used to keeping my personal life private. I just feel that some things are worth sharing and some things are just meant for me to enjoy with the people closest to me.  I’ve come to the realisation that I never take time to sit down and just think like “man you’ve really worked hard to get where you are now, well done” and I a lot of us don’t do that. I spend more time licking my wounds and sulking over the things that didn’t go as I had planned than celebrate all my achievements. About a year ago I was going through my Instagram and I came across something that Jay Chetty posted, I’m a huge ...

KING T’CHALLA OUR FIRST BLACK HERO 28 August 2020, a day that left me and many others around the world shocked. I’m not one to cry or make a fuss about celebrities, but waking up to the news of Chadwick Boseman’s passing had me in tears, I was surprised about how much I actually cared and really loved him as an actor who had produced one of the best work I’ve seen. The entire day my chest felt heavy, a part of me wished that this was just another hoax and someone out there made a mistake. Chadwick wasn’t just another actor, this man inspired change, he was the reason why we filled up cinema’s to see someone Black being portrayed, not just as a king, but A SUPER HERO - yes an entire black and strong man, a hero!! For once, we didn’t see a black man as a gangster, a rapist, abuser or criminal because our blackness is seen as a weapon and associated with everything bad and wrong in this world. Hollywood movies hardly ever portrays us as good upstanding citizens we are constant...

Ndivhudzannyi Ralivhona, better known as Makhadzi is a singer and song writer, born in Ha-Mashamba, a village just outside Elim. She is best known for her songs "Tshanda Vhuya" and "Matorokisi." I remember seeing her for the first time performing outside a Shoprite Usave. I had been driving with my brother to get some veggies. I just remember him loosing his mind, eagerly waiting for the car to come to a complete stop at the parking lot so that he could quickly get off and go watch this lady. He didn't even wait for me to ask who or what he is rushing for!! "Eeh Mbofho ndi Makhadzi, tavhanyani khou nyaga u ya u mu vhona" He said impatiently. And as soon as the car stopped he jumped off running and disappeared into the crowd that had gather to watch the performance. If I didn't know any better I would have thought an American superstar like Beyonce was performing there for free. So I peep through the crowd to get a glimpse of this person...

I guess my mind just went on to create a new word lol the right way to begin this conversation is to describe what it means, right? So, Afronacities is the necessary conversation around the mighty Afro and yes, as you may have already guessed this article is about black hair. By far the most versatile of all kinds of hair. I guess we have to credit Minnie Dlamini Jones for going on record implying that rocking Bantu Knots is considered ghetto. But hold on, I want to try stay away from the politics of black hair. That would actually requires me to have time to properly address the politics, I guess today will just be an introduction to many conversations about our hair. The Afro. Coils or Curls if you may.  It was about 5 years ago when I decided to transition from relaxed hair to allowing my hair to grow freely from my skull without interference. I remember the events leading up to that decision like it was yesterday. It was on the back of a trip to Kimberley to visit a...

Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision and make it plain on tablets, that the one who reads it may run - Habakkuk 2:2 I must have spent the last 4 years of my life reminiscing about a world led by females, without the stereotypes, of course. Equally so, I’ve also spent the most recent years of my life making sure that the female is empowered to lead. This is the vision, it is plain, may she read it and run with it. In all honesty, gender shouldn’t be a factor in whether or not a person can be a great leader; a person’s leadership abilities should depend on their individual strengths and personality traits but like the saying goes “History is written by the winners” so for many years women were and are still told they cannot be effective leaders because we are too “emotional”, if it’s not that then we are indecisive, then when we are not emotional or indecisive; we are ruthless/heartless…ooh how can I forget a national fave “women are dramatic”? And so t...

Privilege!! A word that gets thrown around in many conversations lately. Today let's chat about what it means to be privileged and what are some of the responsibilities that come with being privileged.  In terms of the dictionary, the word Privilege is defined as a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group.  Now I am definitely going to tread carefully and stay away from race related privileges, for the purposes of this article, I would like to keep my focus on privilege from being in a position of influence. Although the same principle would apply even to race related privileges.  A month ago while watching Blackish, I came across an episode that spoke about how one black star in Hollywood is chosen to be celebrated each decade. That chosen star would be the one black person that gets all the jobs in Hollywood. Examples in more recent times would be a Lupita Nyongo, a Voila Davis and the Smith family. The ...

A few months ago I came across this piece written by Thabo "Coach T" Mogano and It stayed with me. I have since started challenging myself with the question everytime I try something new and different; Then what?   Then what? It may sound like an incomplete sentence but for the purposes of my blog today I want to start with this exact question. Then What?  This is a question I often ask myself after I have read a book, completed a course or simply learned something new. It forces me to engage with what I have just learned and comprehend what changes need to follow this "new” knowledge that I have acquired.  I recently had a conversation with someone who told me their target for the year was to read over 50 books. I will admit at first I thought this was a noble pursuit but my reflective nature then decided to pose a question to this young man.  "How many books have you read in the past two years?" After a reflective pause he boldly said to me "...

You know how people say how your twenties are the craziest years of your life, well there is no disputing that fact, but have you seen a 10-year-old wild out? Now, before you get carried away in no way was I going clubbing or staying out the only illegal thing I did A LOT was playing outside with my friends WITHOUT asking for permission. Growing up my parents were super strict; you could get the beating of your life for breathing the wrong way. Everyone in our neighbourhood till this day knows that my parents do not play, they mean serious business. But home girl has always been gangster I was not having any of it, I loved playing outside with my friends and I felt like they were just ruining my life with all these insanely strict rules. I was known as the rebellious one and my sister the sweet one, which annoyed me cause my family was blind to all my sisters wrong doings and she had a good way of hiding it from them. Me on the other hand was always at the receiving end of my sis...

Dating is one of the most critical stages in the process of growing up. I guess it is safe to say that most of us have been asked out at some stage in our lives. Similarly for men, they too have asked someone out at some point in their lifetime. Asking someone out can be awkward at the best of times. You are two total strangers attempting to get to know each other, impress, excite, and have fun in the process. But that is a lot easier said than done, right? Ever wondered whether there is a right way to ask or be asked out on a date? Ever been ask out by a guy and thought “Nah, this is not it? There’s zero effort here”. Today's discussion will probably expose how fussy I am about “The Approach”; however I believe that finding the right strategy to ask someone out may increase your chances of getting a date. Although I might not be the most experienced person to tackle this topic (My dating experience leaves a lot to be desired); allow me to share my account of what I have seen ov...

Growing old or dying young More often the question, “What is the best age to die?” gets thrown around in conversations amongst young people, for some reason no one ever aims at anything less than 50. We could all be young, but we never really fall under the same umbrella/group. We have the curious about life and death kind, and also the kind that flat out refuses to imagine what an end to their life or that of those around them would mean. I would rather die young: I imagine if I’m to die at a young age, than having to grow old and eventually die of natural causes, that should mean that I’m going to live out my best life and accomplish all that I’ve set out for my life at a young age. Sounds like a plan, except whose to say at what pace am I going to go through life. I imagine full speed no pit stops, no room reserved for second guessing any decision, or even regrets for that matter. I would rush through each accomplishment, and any important event, and then, after all that is done, I ...

We are all just trying to find a place where we feel like we belong. A place where people will laugh at our jokes and find our awkwardness cute; A place where we can all share memes and laugh till we cry; A place where our fragile bodies and minds are accepted and appreciated for what they are, as well as what they could be. A place of belonging is a happy place. Many of you may already know that I spent a couple of years of my life in a place called Kimberley. Kimberley; Capital City of the Northern Cape. I like to call this period of my life “The Incubation Period” because of the many lesson learned during my time there. I call it the incubation period because during my time there; I was just like an egg and Kimberley was the hen that kept me warm and it made sure that I hatch and live up to my full potential. Kimberley was a good incubator. No, allow me to rephrase; Kimberley was a great incubator. I moved to Kimberley in 2012 when I got my first job. All I knew about Kimberley at t...

                      She WAKES I missed the ignorance of truth         And avoidance of reality                                       The delusional confidence in youth   I envied the versions of me back then That walked with blind confidence                    Composed of blissful foolishness Deaf to the sounding of life   I had awoken to a mind and immediately Yearned for earlier moments As if my lies to myself were my truths And I was glad   Luckily this was just a fleeting valley stride That unknown to me was the long Way I had chosen by deciding to remain Could have been that I left no love to myself And also no Time to know me, ...