Return to Paradise

India has always been a country very fascinating for me. I think everytime I visit I feel like I want to settle there - take up some course in holistic healing and live with the massive population - being a part of it. Belonging. This trip I am on is no different - it's been draining from an academic point of view but I've certainly enjoyed the bright colours and numerous festivals that have been on around this time of the year.

I return to Africa next week and I can't say I'm looking forward to that. The trauma of crime, corruption (not that there isn't any in India - but somehow it's just easier to accept here!) - it all weighs too heavily on my shoulders - even the thought of it makes me cringe.

Happy New Year!

Got back last week from an amazing trip.. really relaxing and a much needed break. Hope your start to the New Year has been a good one so far as well. So thought I'd share my New Year resolutions with you - well just the public ones ;-)

1. Eat healthy and keep fit - got off to a really good start last year and I want to keep going
2. Take on at least 2 pro-bono PR projects this year - one in Africa and the other in India
3. Complete my thesis
4. Travel to at least one country I have not been to
5. Eat less chocolate!!

The last one is the doozy!

Not surprised to see nothing much has changed in the whole Zimbabwe situation since I left last year - South Africa still appears to be in denial that Zimbabwe is now their problem. Robert Mugabe has decided to go on leave at an opportune time - this time to Malaysia. One wonders what Malaysian officials are getting in return for supporting Mugabe and even going so far as offering him refuge in their country. Robert Mugabe's vacation will further delay the formation of a new government in Zim.. this situation just gets more ridiculous by the second.

Anyway, enough for now - hope to be more regular with my posts on this blog this year.. will try to get some photos up soon!

xxx nayna

ps: be sure to vote for whether you're optimistic about 2009 or not on Wonkie cartoons!

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.