Expanding Horizons

When I signed up for the WoW programme, I had some pretty clear ideas about the kind of institutions I wanted to work for. On my short list of prospective employers were media newsrooms and HIV- or development-based research organisations. Well, that was until we had a WoW session with Steve Grudz’s South African Institute of International Affairs(www.saiia.org.za/), which opened my eyes to whole new world of possibilities and career options... I feel like a kid in a candy shop…

I am not sure what sparked off the deep unsettling feeling within me. The session provoked me to get off my laurels and act before the rag of underdevelopment completely wipes us off the face of this continent... It is possible that it was Grudz’s passion for Africa that rubbed off on me. It is also not unlikely that the reality of Africa's glaring social, economic and political gaps and issues we discussed stopped me in my tracks and demanded my attention. The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) are Africa’s own home-grown tools and instruments created to address the developmental issues on the continent... some big brother!

Other ‘local’ initiatives that focus on solving Africa’s problems include efforts of people like Anton Gollub of the Johannesburg Housing Company (www.jhc.co.za/). These private developers are in the business of building affordable rental houses for the low- to middle-income families.

Gollub interrupted his discussions on the various aspects and challenges of social housing and asked us: “What is your purpose in life? Think about it… it will keep you awake at night”.

Thinking aloud!
I solemnly suggest the possibility that part of my purpose might be realised after my conscription into an army of crusaders who champion the causes of our beloved continent… Something tells me I won’t be getting too much sleep tonight... I will be pondering on this matter of existential proportions …

One thing is for sure though; nothing is cast in stone… least of all, my career interests.