This morning I came across the 1907 George Bernard Shaw quote ‘The greatest of evils and the worst of crimes is poverty’. While I have read it on numerous occasions, this coupled with reflections of resent occurrences has struck a particular chord with me. South Africa this year has hosted a highly successful 2010 Football […]

I spent this past weekend on faculty induction with Columba 1400. It\’s roots lie in Scotland and the academy is coming to South Africa with a focus on realizing the potential of youth who primarily come from troubled backgrounds. Through miscommunication, I hopped into my car heading for Esemvelo Nature Reserve on Friday morning thinking

The dust has started to settle following my participation in last week\’s Africa-Middle East Regional Microcredit Summit. There were too many inspiring people to meet between sessions and dinners late into the night so I did not get to blog daily as intended. My new friends have since left back to their home countries or

I spent the day on a field visit with Jamii Bora. If anyone doubts that micro-credit can work in an African context, then save up your plane fair and make your way to Kenya! A project started by a retired Ingrid Munro and 50 determined street beggars now boasts loans of over 300 billion Kenyan

Finally, I land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, Kenya! This country of beautiful people has been on my travel destination list for a decade so I\’m overjoyed to be here. My reason (excuse) is the Africa Middle East Regional Microcredit Summit 2010 A few quick impressions before I get some needed sleep before tomorrow\’s

I have never been one for queues, especially when linked to any government institution. This morning was no exception. Not having been to the Department of Home Affairs since 2005, I dreaded the journey with memories of four hour queuing still fresh in my mind. One would think it would be to get tickets for

Since this a recurring theme for me and source of immense irritation, I will copy an excerpt from an email I sent to a Pioneers of Change list at the end of last year. It was sent following a challenge from someone to show him 50 Social Entrepreneurs in South Africa. ———- While the field

I sit in my lounge overlooking my backyard and grey skies of Joburg; I check my clock to confirm that it is in fact the 5th January 2010. The past 3.5 weeks are a muddle in my mind, traveling through countries losing time, losing days and perhaps my sanity too somewhere in-between. Around mid-December I

I have not been in Europe for about 1.5 years. Coming back after a long duration and having since observed various stages of Johannesburg\’s BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) system provides a pause for ponder. The first thing that struck me while in Amsterdam is how the interconnected system just works. Commuters have a deep relationship

My journey to Copenhagen has been a long and difficult one. From the Danish Embassy refusing to issue me a visa to enter the country before 17th December despite pleas from within Denmark to let me in sooner and not being able to be physically present to host a workshop. I was finally about to