A memoir of our meeting with House Representative John Lewis and Julian Bond, which was held in Representative Lewis' office (which is as quirky as it is impressive). As we listened to their stories of their struggle for civil rights alongside Martin Luther King Jr, I felt another "pinch me" moments come to life.

It’s Sunday July 17. Fifteen South Africans, their host families and SAWIP staff have gathered at Dulles Airport to take a few photographs and hug each other excessively as they smile and laugh and hold back tears. To me, it feels like just another SAWIP event...but this does not explain why my host-sisters will not let go of me...or why I’m saying goodbye.

When all these worlds became funny to me,

I silently waded back to you.

And amid the dusty rubble I lay...Simply African.

 

What began as an ordinary morning commute to work, became an exercise in observation of the mechanics of Ubuntu in a little neighbourhood called Arlington, Virginia.

Inspired by the topic of Youth Action for Economic Development, this is what the entrepreneur in me dictates; and what the optimist in me celebrates.

 

Coverage of our very first team-event: the beginning of an in-depth exploration of the cultures that colour our rainbow nation.

From raw threads of individual heritage, humility and ambition, to a tapestry of team synergy and sophistication: the weaving of the Class of 2011.

We’re not so different after all. We’re not so strange.