21 Today

Oh wow, our junior designer, Terrence, turned 21 today and can now have the keys for his new car. Okay I knew he was a youngster but this young. Anyways all the best Terrence, may you be blessed to be a blessing to others.

It wasn’t the only birthdays that tried to sneak past without us noticing, Mkuseli and Cyril, joined Terrence in the traditional eKayaMedia birthday song.

Super Team

It is not often that our awesome team at eKayaMedia get to let our shirts hang out. Wait, wait, I think my shirt hangs out often, oh well I better tuck it in then, as I have a long way to become a Super Villain extraordinaire, at least I don’t wear my under garments on the outside covered by a cape.

The New Media team at eKayaMedia are from the left to right, me Jerome the team leader, seo guru, and the super villain of the team, next is our social media wiz kid Paballo, next is our serious developer Mkuseli, followed by our take no prisoners content strategist Nomangaliso, and finally but not least is our genius graphic designer Ella.

That’s all folks, enjoy the weekend!

Ndisemathandweni

I’m in love, uh? Walking into our offices this morning, this is what caught my eye, a two litre plastic cool drink bottle with a few dregs of Lemon Twist at the bottom and a bright pink Post-It note stuck on it sitting on Mkuseli’s desk. Yes I am back at work, wheezing but blessed to be alive. Lynda wants me to go for a second option as she is sure that the doctor didn’t take into account the bouts of fever I have been having every night. But back to the skin divers swimming at the bottom of a twist bottle.

On the pink note is scrawled this message “With this drink I pronounce my love for you! Drink it in remembrance of me. Ndisemathandweni Mkhu wam!” Curiouser and curiouser!

Ndisemathandweni is the isiXhosa word for I’m in love, Mkhu is a shortened form for Mkuseli, and wam like the isiZulu word wami means mine. Oh wow looks like we have a love twist brewing here at the office in the bottom residues of a bottle. Anonymous, we don’t know who you are but would love to find out.

3000th Post

Here are my team mates at eKayaMedia gathered together to wish me all the best on my 3000th post. In the front row, left to right is myself Jerome, Kabelo, Noma, Paballo, Sandra, Calvin, Des, and Ernest. At back is Johan, Ilana, Mpho, Ella, Xolani, Mkuseli, Philip, Bridget, Lawrence, Wayne, Viandre, and Jacques. Below are the three special children Rob, Velile, and Gillis, who couldn't make the group photo. Thank you everyone who participated in this 3000th blog post.

Wow to reach 3000 posts on this blog has been something of a ride. What do you expect with all ups and downs of over eight years of a blog post per day till now? It’s nostalgic looking back through all my posts. Some bring a smile to my face, and some make my eyes all teary, but such are these 2999 memories woven into the fabric of what I call a sorry excuse of my life. And now I have one more which takes it up to 3000.

Every one of these 3000 moments are precious to me even the broken pieces when my days were dark as the light, the joy of life just overwhelms everything else. Someone once said that a photograph can be an instant of life captured for eternity that will never cease looking back at you.

Please feel free to browse through all my life posts, right back to the start in January 2007. Yes one day I’ll look back on all this and smile because it was life and I decided to live it.

New Media Team

I have posted photos of our awesome New Media Team before but on an individual basis, this is the team together sans me who is taking the photo. From left to right is Noma our Content Strategist, Ella our Multimedia Designer, Mkuseli our Developer, and Paballo our Social Media specialist.

The Royal We decided to kick start our weekly Progress Meeting out of our comfort zone by having it at Mugg and Bean. Yes sure, having our meeting at a coffee restaurant was a big change and it made a huge difference as we, Bosasa's New Media Team not only want to be a well-oiled machine but also we want to be family. And like families do, look out for each other and help each other grow, personally, work, and spiritually.

Now to let the cat out of the bag, for Bosasa’s Year of Significance, our theme is to start this Year of Significance with our focus on Growth.

How are we going to take ourselves to the next level? 

Personally for the team, I want to grow from the level of where the team follows leadership because they have to, to a level where the team follows because they want to. Now look what I have done, made it public which means how many will now hold me accountable for making this growth happen? Let the growing begin.

The Sunflower Fund

As we approach the second Christmas that God has granted Nika since she was first diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia, I sat and folded the Sunfower Fund’s bandanna for tomorrow’s Giving Thanks Day at Bosasa. My thoughts were on Nika who this Christmas is doing exceptionally well compared to last year February when she was diagnosed with this life threating blood disorder.

Nika’s options to live were very slim in South Africa, thankfully her parents managed to get her booked into the Toronto Children’s Hospital and she was flown over as soon as she was stable. The Northern American Bone Marrow Register is so much larger than the South African one which increased her chance of finding a bone marrow match.

Last year for Nika had been an up and down in the hands of God and the talented staff of the Toronto Children’s Hospital type of year. This year she slowly improved and now Nika is nearly normal little girl who has been though a lot.

So now we get to Nika’s blessed second Christmas since her journey with Aplastic Anemia started, I plead you to help get our South African Bone Marrow Registry bigger. Many South African children need you to register so there might be a slim chance that they would have many more Christmases too. If you are committed to helping; are between the ages of 18 and 45; in general good health; over 50kg with a Body Mass Index higher than 35; and prepared to remain on the register until you are 60 years of age then please why are you waiting?

1. Call 0800 12 10 82 or 0210661
2. Answer medical questions and if you are eligible then
3. You will be directed to your nearest recruitment clinic
4. Two vials of blood will be drawn
5. Blood would be tested and results put on the register
6. The South African Bone Marrow Registry will post you your card in 6-8 weeks

That simple. Oops I forgot that the Postal Services are still on strike. Oh well don’t let that stop you.

Please note, small print time, to narrow any complications with the bone marrow the South African Bone Marrow Registry asks that if you not register if you think need an HIV test; have been exposed to hepatitis or HIV by contact with family or work; have injected yourself even once with illegal or non-prescription drugs; lead an unsafe sexual lifestyle; get regular tattoos or piercings; are pregnant or have had a baby in the last year; have had cancer; and have a phobia for needles.

They say finding a match is 1:100,000 in South Africa so please pick up the phone 0800 12 10 82.

At first I thought that if they find me as a match to someone I would have to go through operations but the Sunflower Fund has told me that it is a process of 4 to 6 hours which they draw blood from your arm into a cell separator machine which extracts your bone marrow from your blood and returned back into you. Plus it is at no charge to you as all costs are picked up through donations. So no skin off your nose. Get registered and help save a life!

That is all I have to say other than to continue folding hundreds of the Sunflower Fund’s bandanna with Mkuseli, Ilana, Mpho, and Noma.

Fare Thee Well Geoffrey

It is good that today is Friday with the weekend ahead but the cherry on top of the cake is that we got to throw a surprise party for Geoffrey albeit a Farewell Surprise Party at that.

Geoff, I have only known you for a short time and I am sure that I can call you a friend so I leave you with this blessing as you go on to greener pastures.

May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

Fare thee well Geoff, do good work, and keep in touch.

Mkuseli aka Gustav

Why the aka Gustav, well as some of my South African friends can attest, I am not good with names, pronouncing them and even remembering them. Maybe I can blame my dyslexia here again, or maybe not. Hence the name Gustav which is the way I pronounce Khusta which is the shortened version of Mkuseli. Oh I better introduce Gustav before I waffle on too much, he is part of my team on the digital side where he is the developer.