We're all going on a.. summer holiday!

So my work's all done for this eyar and I'm feeling so great.. getting ready to go on a holiday for 4 weeks.. can't wait! Not sure how much I'll be able to keep the blog up to date as there won't be too much internet access at the ashram ;) LOL

I'll try to at least post some pictures.. in the meantime I'll find out how to post on this blog by email.. maybe I can use my crackberry to send some pics through to the blog!

PR Success!

Otherwise the rest of my week has been great - completed a massive PR exercise on Wednesday and took a break for a couple of days to recover. It's been good fun hanging out with friends and catching up. Schools in South Africa are off from this Friday so I expect the malls etc will be crowded with teenagers not going away until their parents get time off from their own jobs.

So about my PR project.. it was a real challenge trying to sell something to the mass market that probably the mass market would not be keen on hearing about. Still it was a great learning experience to work with one of the best! I'll be producing some press release material over the next week to try and get some traction with international papers as well.. right now the subject is all hush-hush so won't give too many details just yet.. but soon you will see it all unfold in front of you!

Foreign Aid

The crisis in Zimbabwe has escalated a fair bit since I last wrote but at least people are saying the right sort of things.. i.e. let's force Mugabe out with force if required. It's amazing to see him now cowing for foreign aid to the Brits after his attitude towards them for all these years!

This weeks cartoon said it all about the SADC's involvement or lack of constructive involvement rather to date!


Cartoon - SA-Zimbabwe
talks

Zimbabwe commentary

Came across another excellent post on the Zimababwe situation by Pitso on thinking aloud - read it to get some excellent analysis on the diplomatic efforts to help Zimbabwe out of its crisis. Sadly I think little can be done from a talk point of view now.

I also received the follow up cartoon to yesterday's post on Wonkie cartoon blog - I can't help feel pessimistic about the country and its people. There is a useful suggestion with today's Mugabe-Mbeki cartoon post - it's a link to an organisation called Gift of the givers if anyone would like to donate to help them with their efforts to alleviate some of the suffering caused by the Cholera crisis in Zim.

Zimbabwe

Ok so I've just viewed yesterday's feed email from Wonkie and the Zimbabwe cartoon there seriously pissed me off. I spent most of my summers out in Zim and travelled all over from the Highlands to Kariba. I cannot believe the country is what it has become. It's certainly true that Thabo Mbeki had the ability and the means to actually prevent this and it's sad that personal interest came before the lives of so many people.

I have a friend who transports and resells fuel and other much needed supplies in Zimbabwe.. I'm talking really basic stuff. She mentioned that on her last trip she didn't recognise her country. She also said that it was clear that the government are covering up the outbreak as much as they can.. preventing strikes of health care workers that don't have the funds, medicine or equipment to properly care for the sick.

What's worse is that the ill are coming to South Africa and the disease is spreading here too. Lack of action on our government's part in South Africa is now directly affecting South Africans... in true African fashion there will be zero accountability for any of this.

Monday, Monday!

The week has begun and off to a good start.. the PR assignment is going better than expected I may even have some time to make some cartoons for Pratish's cartoon blog this week. I'm going to be launching the site in Kenya in December .. really looking forward to putting some of my media training in action :) I will be covering mostly East African news and also be working a bit with Joseph Reddy on Bollywood logs when I'm in Mumbai in January.

I'm really looking forward to my India trip next month - always love the food, chilled out atmosphere, lovely people, did I mention the food? Lol... Anyway, back to work for now.. shall write more later!.

My first blog post

Not sure what I'm supposed to say in this case except that I was strongarmed into this by my South African friends on my last visit there :) Just because they have I need to have one too :P

Lol.. just kidding - am quite looking forward to this. I'll set everything up and start writing away after I finish my PR assignment on Wednesday!