Power to the people?

A couple of days ago, I tuned in to watch a show entitled Zimbabwe’s forgotten children.


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I pause, as I can not find the words to describe how that documentary showed me a world that just… just… just is not right.

It just isn’t right!
It just ain’t right!
And it seems it just can’t get right.

Or can it?

Well, as my heart welled up with emotion and questions raced through my head about the whole grim situation, I began to ask myself what I could do about it. I went about my life and business as those questions circled around and around in my head. And then out of nowhere I felt a glimmer of hope fill my heart. The string of events which led to this are as follows.

It just so happens that I have recently gotten involved in raising funds for a charity related to development. It does not feel like an extremely significant contribution because… well… who am I? All I am is a gal who has decided to go for a run and have asked people to sponsor me with a few dollars and some pocket change; that’s all. I took my sponsorship form to work. I was overwhelmed by the amount of support I got from my colleagues. They helped me to raise my target amount in just a matter of hours and that response made me feel that I could truly make a difference in this world.

As my heart began to pump with excitement and inspiration, I started to have a few more hopeful thoughts about situations in sub Saharan Africa such as the Zimbabwe situation. I began to ask what I could do to help as a daughter of the soil, perhaps when I next visit. I also asked myself what I could do as a professional in the built environment, which brings me back to my focus for this month.

Energy and Power

It does not sound as exciting or as sexy as hair and makeup, fashion, business or anything else really, not on this blog anyway. But do you know the impact that the lack of a reliable supply of energy and power has had on people like Zimbabwe’s forgotten children? How about the impact of a lack of power to the first world as we know it? Remember the North East American blackout in 2003? This impacted on major transport systems such as rail and air, it had an impact on the financial markets, it had an impact on water systems. What else happens when the first world has no power? It affects major forms of communication. No facebooking, internet banking, online shopping amongst other online business transactions; no blogging when we want and where we want. Well, you could do it on your mobile phone but no power means the internet service providers relying on communication network exchanges supported by massive data centres powered by hundreds of thousands of volts of electric power will just not be… well… online! There is such a tremendous demand for power to carry today’s technology; which is always advancing at unbelievable pace. Zimbabwe’s forgotten children are not thinking about facebook right now, it just isn’t at the top of their list yet. What they need is for their broken country to be put back together again.

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put humpty together again… but humpty should have let you and me chip in. We CAN make a difference!

Oh, I sure do know how to get myself hyped and pumped to make a difference. The only stumbling block I have is where do I start? What size of impact should I focus on, big or small? If I could achieve something that could make a difference to a country’s power supply, how could I do it without politics coming into the mix as a stumbling block; since energy and power is such a big issue? If I think about the fact that Zimbabwe’s forgotten children cannot even flush a toilet full of the proverbial because the municipality’s sewage system is stopped, probably because there is no power to make it work; I can’t help but want to do something right here, right now, today. And leave the king’s horses and the king’s men up to their own devices.

But what they need is for their broken country to be put back together again, it is never enough for a little help here and there. What they need is for their roads to work again, for water and power to work sensibly, for good health care, education and an economy that can be restored to what it once was and even better.

They need power to run their homes and so that the children can read their homework at night. They need power to make manufacturing run again, competitively and efficiently; and hence productively so that there is enough profitability for mom and dad to have jobs again. They need power to restore and maintain good clean running water. They need power to support medical health systems. They need power to keep their schools open so that they are not closed down due to fears of a cholera breakout from a sanitation problem, which in turn puts more strain on their medical health system. And they need reliable power to keep the economy in the game of catching up to the rest of the world. They need power so that the nation can keep geared to the times of the internet age. They need power to get the economy running again.

The people need their power!

Zimbabwe's forgotten children

Tune is to watch a documentary about Zimbabwe's forgotten children. I managed to find the first part on youtube for those who may not have access to BBC iplayer around the world.

Please be aware, the film is very graphic and may upset viewers. Here goes.





more links for the rest of the documentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDezIzugLXU part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bo_9luSwIU part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVmeKIz5DzA part 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTKNiwIi9yo part 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCNlOGCctMc part 5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avG2HyaYV8A part 6

Google and Not Utilities

Before I start this topic, let me tell you a funny story about why this video jumped out at me. For a long time I have been trying to improve my career, and knowledge on issues of global importance. Hehe, that sentence almost fell into the buzz word trap. I have attended seminars and meetings in recent months which have centred around engineering, development, and disaster relief. I decided I would try to deepen my knowledge in these issue through formal education and have applied for a number of post graduate courses. It so happened that at one of my events focused on Engineering for Development, I met a professor representing a faculty at one of the Universities I applied to.

Focus for the month

In my last post, I said that I would like to take the focus off myself for a while. I have had a bit of a brain wave and realised that I probably do not have to stop blogging altogether, but I can write about other stuff.

In my life, I have several pastimes. Some of them include cooking (like can it actually count as a hobby), running (perhaps this is more of a duty as the pain of NEEDING to exercise does not always mean sheer delight for me), dancing (the type that requires gyration of the hips!) and spending countless hours on the internet in search of USEFUL information. As a career woman in the built environment, I find that I cannot quite satisfy my thirst for knowledge solely through my work.

Off me

I just want to take the focus off myself for a while, I think I am trying too hard here.

Hair Update!

It has been 7 weeks since I went natural and coloured my hair. This was not my first time going natural though it was the first time I dyed my hair. I went natural a couple of years ago but I did not take good care of my hair and the natural fro did not last. This time around, I am really putting the effort into it. My regular regime is to co wash once or twice a week, my hair loves water. I will give it a treatment with Organic root stimulator hair mayonnaise every two weeks after a shampoo wash. I am using L'Oreal colour protect shampoo. It also responds particularly well to Palmers Olive Oil Formula with Vitamin-E replenishing Conditioner, always leaving my hair baby soft. I then spruce it up with natural shea butter and my Lush R & B cream. No combing unless I am co-washing under running water, no brushing, no nothing! Just wet hair, bobby pins and clips, and when I really want to dress it up, a flower!

Use it or lose it?!

Hi kids!

It has been quite a while since my last post. Work, life, balance… it all seems to catch up with me every now and again. During my time of wee silence, I have had a couple of topics brewing that I want to talk about.

First is something Uncle Choklit said that sparked some interesting conversation. It all started with a video of Obama’s meeting with young African leaders.

My God Story

Every now and again, I have a heightened sense of God at work in my life, telling me something in His own way, showing me that He's got my back, and teaching me lessons. Yes, some would call it hearing from God, but I am a bit careful with my choice of words when I share about what I "hear" from HIM. So for now, I call it a heightened sense of His presence in my life. And often during this time, He is telling me something and I am learning something, or shifting my focus onto something I believe He wants me to do. I call such times as these my God Stories. And basically it could be anything to do with my relationship with Him.

Hello world!

Well, I decided to check my blog stats today and was amazed to find so many peops had paid me a visit. I have had visitors from the UK, Australia, USA, Canada, Denmark, China, Singapore, Southern Africa!!!!!!!!!! Well, I just wanted to say that you are most welcome to put a comment on my blog if you want to. I have not set up e-mail yet, but I will soon. Take care!

Billionaire

“I wanna be a billionaire
So freakin’ Bad
Buy all of the things I never had
I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine
Smiling next to Oprah and the queen
Oh every time I close my eyes.
I see my name in shining lights
A different city every night
Oh I, I swear the world better prepare
For when I’m a billionaire (Travie McCoy)”


I don’t know what it is about me sometimes, or perhaps us humans, because I know I am not the only one who has thought about the words above. OK! Fine! Perhaps the rest of the world is not as shallow as me, or as materialistic, but somebody out there, anybody, in fact a lot of people out there have said these words:


“I WANT TO BE SOMEBODY! One day, you will see, one day imma be somebody.”

A career woman

I have gotten lost in the daily grind of being a career woman, gotten over consumed by the "next step" in my career and finding my "one true path" to success. For so many years I feel as though I have been preoccupied with chasing this dream career, that I was willing to "be flexible" and "adaptable to change", of myself that is, and it has gotten me nowhere.

The Choklit Phamlee

Welcome to the post about my family, The Choklit Phamlee. Who are we? Well! We are a family of 3 at the moment, and we are waiting for just a moment till we become a family of more, it could be a long moment, or a short one. Only time will tell. But there are 3 of us right now: Uncle Choklit, Ms Choklit and L’il Coco.

Finding my way back to trust

In my last post I painted a pretty grim picture about broken trust in relationships. Come on, admit it! When your heart has been broken and you have crashed into the deepest hole, there seems no way to get back and put the pieces together. All that is left for you to feel is the pain and anger. But there is hope!

See, after I wrote my last post, I just pondered about this issue of how to fix broken trust. Let's just say I went on a journey and believe I found the answer.

Digging deeper

So...

I often think about what I really want my blog to be about. Do I want to focus on being a parent, my pursuit of a better relationship with my Lord God, my hair, my favourite recipes or simply just everyday things in my life? I think about the everyday things and then wonder why anyone would want to read everyday happenings of an unknown person. Well, yeah of course some people obsess about other people's lives; why wouldn't anyone want to read about how Beyonce does her hair, or what Jennifer Lopez is cooking for dinner? But this is just me. Hmmmm, maybe it is a good idea to share my blog with people who matter to me. Like my family and friends, allowing them to get to know the real me. I will think about it.

Let me get back to the matter at hand. Today I read a great forward e-mailed by my Dad, UncleChoklit's Dad! Read it here. I always remember what my dearest spiritual mom at my church told me before UncleChoklit and I got married.

Relationships

I got this forward from UncleChoklits Dad today and I thought I would share it. It got me thinking about a couple of things. I have expanded on them here.

TRUST is a very important factor for all relationships. When trust is broken, it is the end of the relationship. Lack of trust leads to suspicion, suspicion generates anger, anger causes enmity and enmity may result in separation.

A telephone operator told me that one day she received a phone call. She answered, "Public Utilities Board." There was silence. She repeated, "PUB." There was still no answer. When she was going to cut off the line, she Heard a lady's voice, "Oh, so this is PUB. Sorry, I got the number from my Husband's pocket but I do not know whose number it is."

No Pictures

Well, I took down my photos. I still want to remain anonymous for a while and oddly enough, I had not thought about it until someone pointed it out to me. Yes, I tried to cut out my face and all, but I am my hair and my nose too. E-mail me for pics if you want to see them. It will be this way for a while, until I have decided what to do next.

My Baby!

She is a determined, persistent, confident, mischievous, cunning, strong willed, active, loveable, unbelievably mature, sassy, fit, intelligent, energetic, spirited, sweet, talkative, independent, picky, ‘won’t take no for an answer’, amazingly special little girl. And she is only 8! 8 months old, that is! She is my first born baby girl. Not that I have any other children or will… yet.

Where do I start with her? Why not at the very, very, very beginning when I first found out that she would make an appearance into the world after roughly 7 and a half months.

L'il Coco

My baby!!!!!!!!! I will write more about her soon!

Lush R & B Hair Moisturiser

Woohoo! I decided to give Lush R & B Hair Moisturiser a try. I actually discovered it in my quest for Bentonite clay. I walked into a Lush store (they smell amazing) and enquired about the clay. They did not have it, however a lot of their delicious looking mud and masks have other types of clay such as kaolin. I resisted the urge to buy their masks; they looked like tasty pudding and yoghurt. As I started to ask about their shea butter range and mentioned that I use it in my hair more than for my skin, the store lady mentioned R & B Hair Moisturiser had just been developed by one of Lush’s employees for afro hair. I looked at the ingredients and saw oat milk, avocado oil, jojoba, extra virgin coconut oil, essential oils and I went crazy. I had to have it and oh it smells divine!

So here we are. My hair had been in a wash n’go state for a couple of days. It felt set in its kinkiness, was dry and shrunken. It must have looked an inch long. I first dabbed a small amount of R & B all over my hair, and decided that in order to really work it in, I would

Ma-Shona type

A generic description of natural kinky afro hair. I called it ma-Shona type for the simple reason that I have extremely close ties with the Shona tribe in Zimbabwe. Ofcourse people who hail from Botswana would probably call it hard tswana type. I am sure you catch my drift.