PRESS STATEMENT

' a beautiful morning flower in bloom...'

Sindisiwe Mkhize - a talented individual, a gifted writer, a friend of mine passed away on Monday night (26, September 2005).

One of the most vibrant female voices on the poetry scene in Kwazulu-Natal, Sindisiwe Mkhize, passed away at Isipingo Hospital on the 26th September 2005. An active member of Young Basadzi Projects, a third runner-up in the June Slam Poetry Contest run by Slam Poetry Operation Team and a Project manager and contributor in an anthology of short stories in isiZulu by young South African Women and regular participant in the activities at the BAT Center.
Sindisiwe Mkhize was also involved in the workshops run by the Pioneers of Change. This year Sindisiwe- popularly known as Sindi- performed at various community events including the performances staged at Gateway to raise funds for the Christian Hope Center, the June 16 and Biko Day rallies, the women’s month celebration activities. She also featured on the SABC 1 programme "Awakening" on Women's Day, recited in the poetry slot in P4 Radio and was a visiting poet at the PMB Caversham residence programme alongside American poet, Alice Lovelace.

Sindi was well-known for social commentary poetry which addressed social issues and challenges such socio-economic reconstruction, nation-building and reconciliation, HIV\ AIDS, human rights, social justice and moral regeneration.

The memorial service will be held on Friday 30 September 2005 at 14:00 in the Mission Control Room at the Bat Center.

The funeral service will take place on Sunday, 2 October 2005 in Isipingo. Fellow poets will read some of her poems and their own.

Young Basadzi is saddened by the untimely departure of one of the most visionary and workaholic poet and activist of Kwa-Zulu Natal at this time when the positive energies and creative minds of the youths are needed for the reconstruction of South Africa and the renaissance of Africa.
May her spirit live and may the Supreme being comfort family and friends left with the emptiness...

For more information, please contact Rose on 072 8968 191.

'Dear God, what a comfort to know that you care and to know when I seek you, you will always be there!'

Bantu Biko lives...12th, September 2005

I was in a bus ride to work one morning, and it's always fascinating when I listen to some of the conversations- and probably 80% of us are women, so you can imagine the gossip that goes around.

Anyways - some weeks back, it was a rather solemn morning and everybody was complaining about their aches and pains and all sorts of things... and as we went about our normal route, the bus slowly went past a house under renovation. And we were all sorta looking on seeing these 2 men work so hard in the early hours of the day.

One of the ladies blurted out: "Hei - umuntu omnyama uyakha!"... and the bus went into a silent mode - with no usual loud responses. Just silent nods and inaudible murmurs - cos it was a heavy statement:

"Umuntu omnyama uyakha!", simply translated as "a black man builds"...

'See, this black man builds, this black man that now travels the dusty gravel roads to his hometown Umbumbulu to give money to wife and kids - he built that smooth tarred freeway; the N3, N2, the M4 to Umhlanga... and forgot his dreams in the process.

This black man who stays in a 'mjondoro', i-shack, a little squatter home - walls made of tin and CocaCola bottles if only to keep the cold away - he built that fancy double storey home with 180degree seaviews... and destroyed his family in the process.

This black man - who is my father, my uncle, my brother, my son now taking a 2hr ride back to his township in a congested taxi 5'oclock in the evening - he built that air-conditioned mercedes benz you now drive... and crippled his own aspirations in the process...

see this black man makes me wanna weep and cry, cos he might have built this country, LITERALLY! but has this country built him anything at all? and well... if he still can build and maybe speak abit of english, he might in the new democratic South Africa BEEmpowered - Vukani-Cronje Consolidated...

so everyday he will keep on building - but when will this black man build his own dreams made of tar, black and strong ? if only to bring light to his nation?
and everyday he will forget, destroy and cripple himself - because u see... Umuntu omnyama uyakha!'

And as Biko said - ' the black man has to free his mind and see himself as a being, entire in himself and not as an extension of some machine...' and perhaps one of the quotes that have stood out through time is: "... the most potent weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed."

I am convinced that the struggle towards Black Consciousness is far from over, and Biko still lives...

YOUNG BASADZI - the rains and sunshine...

Well, Durban has been a bit dull with cloudy and rainy skies - BUT today is full of sunshine promises and hopes...

A lot has been happening to this mosadzi-Rose - going back to a stunning weekend of Women in Fashion and Poetry on the 20th, August. Still grateful that we are able to continue with the revolution for women's 'breakthrough'! It is truly a blessing to a part of South Africa today, right now...

The 27th, August was the revival of Durban's Drumbeat festival and YOUNG BASADZI was honoured to have been a part of this awesome show. The drum, the beat, the dance, the rhythm, the poetry...

OKAY OKAY! What have I really been up to?

'Walking in this World', Julia Cameron gives and restores so gently and beautifully the practical steps toward creativity - lost or yet to be found... It has a striking green cover, and I certainly recommend it! Go out to the bookstore and walk in this world...

Also had a priviledge of being a part of Steve Biko's world through Donald Woods' eyes. 'BIKO' has introduced me to this great man who was born at a time when his revolutionary ideas of Black Consciousness could not be conceived nor understood. Kinda like Jesus who was also born at a time when this world was all about wars and he came with the notion of peace, love and harmony... unthinkable...? They must have thought he was mad and of course they killed him for it! Steve Biko also died young, and somehow I am convinced that we are still NOT ready to hear what he had to say. He did what most of us only dream of doing - which is finding the alternate solution... looking inward. A path toward self-love, self-worth, self-revival! A MUST-READ for every black person!

I wonder at times how many 30year-olds today can truly say that we believe in what we do? We just sorta struggle on in our worlds, in the hope to find ourselves amidst all the chaos... ?

Thursday sessions at the BatCentre are just awesome - PLEASE JOIN US at the BatCentre, 5pm! I still write, I still dream, I still long for an alternate solution for the young women of our country...

POETRY AFRICA, 2005 is just around the corner and a year later - our book is still not out! Do not despair - our time is coming...