Happy birthday.

:: More

The bursary is intended to enable young journalists to gain valuable insights into the political, economical, and cultural, as well as social, fabric of the host country. All journalists from Southern Africa (SADC Member States) between the age of 25 and 35 who regularly work for a media organisation can apply. It is assumed that all delegates have a strong command of the English language. German language abilities are an advantage but are not mandatory. To qualify for the bursary, candidates must: 1) work for a media organisation; 2) be between 25 and 35 years old; 3) be fluent in English; and 4) come from one of the eligible countries: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. German is not mandatory.

The Fellowship 2009 begins in May 2009 with an introductory conference for all delegates, followed by the journalism internship. Applicants must submit their preferences for the newspaper, radio, or television station, or news agency where they would like to work in Germany. Participants will receive a fixed payment of 3,000 Euro (about US$4,035) to cover most of their travel, accommodation, and living expenses. Applicants are asked to send the application documents to: vollmar[at]ijp.org >>

Deadline: 31 January 2009

“In recognition of the part that the literary, visual and performance arts can play in fostering a culture of peace and tolerance in a highly polarized and complex situation as Zimbabwe today.  Zimbabwe Poets for Human Rights invites you to a free Tolerance & Towards peace Poetry Recital and Discussion Forum @ the US Embassy Public Affairs Section Auditorium 7th Floor Goldbridge on Tuesday 27 January 2009 from 1500HRS to 1700HRS.”

I don’t know.

Perhaps I was blogging with my friends at Zimbablog? Perchance I was out jumping from gig to gig so I could put together enough photos for The ZimboJam? Maybe I was writing my first blog post for NewZimbabwe blogs? There is a possibility also that I was out seeking motivation on Motivated for Greatness…

Who knows, I could have been guest blogging for Milton Kamwendo on Innov8 Motivation. Was it Aripano Infinity that kept me away for so long? Or Facebook? Or LinkedIn?

Was I just missing my love? Maybe I was just sitting here thinking. About Cholera. About confusion. About this big mess. About what I could do. About what WE could do.

As if for the first time

The day before yesterday, I went shopping in one of those supermarkets that are now selling groceries in US Dollars. It’s amazing how packed it was. People were shopping like crazy.

I stopped at a shelf that was loaded with mayonnaise. It had been long since I’d seen the stuff on a Zimbabwean supermarket shelf. US$5,00 for a 750g bottle. I was standing there doing some sums in my head, wondering if it was expensive or not, when  up came a woman and her daughter of about ten.

“Mayonnaise!” the little girl seemed even more shocked than I had been to see it on the shelf. It was almost as if she was seeing a real bottle of mayonnaise for the first time in her life. The mother stopped and smiled at her. “Yes, you want it?”

Her daughter nodded furiously.

“Take one,” the older woman seemed proud that she was able to offer her daughter this treat.

The young girl reached up and excitedly picked a bottle.

Touched, I stopped doing sums and grabbed a bottle for myself. In my head I was now thinking, “what on earth have we done?”

Our kids get excited when they see mayonnaise on a supermarket shelf? In Chitungwiza a few weeks ago I witnessed a whole bunch of kids leaping and screaming for joy when the power came back on. What on earth have we done?

As if for the last time

Later on in the early evening I went for a bicycle ride around the neighbourhood. It’s been an intense week of work- trying to get a new website up, along with other pressing demands on my being- and I felt I needed to unwind. There I was riding along, listening to Enya, when at one of the gates I noticed I young couple (late teens or early twenties).

The girl was hugging the guy really REALLY tightly. Her arms were clamped around him so tight I could almost feel it myself. He, on the other hand, was trying to pull away- gently.

Against a post near the gate, his mode of transport awaited- a bicycle.

As I rode past I noticed she looked really sad. It was as if she was seeing him, hugging him, smelling him, touching him, for the very last time…

Yesterday I felt like Amarula
The day before red wine
Bring out the bottle
Cause today, I just feel like Rosé

That journey has taken me through thousands of websites and seen me witness technological wonders unfold before my very eyes.

My realisation, over and over again, is that the Internet is a place of great opportunities. Opportunities to meet new people. Opportunities to make new friends. Opportunities to make a living. Opportunities to create wealth. Opportunities to learn, to teach, to share knowledge, to collaborate, to dream, to make dreams come true.

Aripano Infinity, and Zimbablog (thank you all so much for supporting Zimbablog!), were born on the back of one of the biggest heart breaks of my life. But thanks to that heart break I was pushed to search harder than before for the trail of opportunity that lies hidden in the clutter of the web.

I am finding parts of it- in exciting chunks that I would like to share with anyone who feels that they too are born to build a livelihood through the Internet or who simply wants to understand better the Way of the Web. These are tools and tricks that are used by the most successful websites around the world.

I would like to share them with you because I have been given them for free by the men and women who have gone before me. I would like to share them with you because they have changed my life and I believe they can change yours- and change Zimbabwe for the better.

Let’s share. Let’s run the opportunity marathon together >>