Lumka Mkhethwa and Michael Komape are names we should know and probably don't. In 2015 Michael, aged 5, drowned in a pit latrine 'toilet' and in 2018 the same thing happened to Lumka. Those are absolute tragedies and should never have been allowed to happen to any human beings and the idea that we get outraged for a moment and then get back to our lives and just carry on feels a little overwhelming [...]
Are you ready to improve your world? We are all responding to lockdown in different ways. But some people are really using this time well, as they have the means and the capacity. So i wanted to share a few ideas for you to consider [and pass on - please consider hitting SHARE and inviting your people to join in as well]. Some you might already be doing, but maybe there is something here [...]
It's time to catch you up on the happenings of our Character Stories for Children kids YouTube channel. i see that my first post about the channel happened the day after April Fool's Day. But this was no joke. We had just gone into Lockdown and it felt like this might be a particularly tough time for parents of young children. So first up i gathered together a whole list of different activities and [...]
Character Stories for Children will have presented 40 stories by the end of this week... What started out as a little dream and a conversation with some Improv friends has grown into a beautiful little family of wacky characters. Strange and interestingly quirky people who arrive at around 3pm every afternoon to share a story, poem or song with the young [and not so young!] children who are stuck in lockdown. Last week we [...]
As we continue with the Life during Lockdown series, we have another response from some younger responders. My mate Link Botha got hold of me with the responses from some of his kids: We are going to hear from Shannon Botha [15], Taylor Botha [13] and Kate Botha [11]: Question 1: What has your experience of lockdown been so far? Taylor: So far it's been quite nice. I have found myself able to relax [...]
Welcome to Life during Lockdown with a bit of a twist. i asked some parents to post the same questions to their children and here are some of their responses: My friend Beben Cadman sent this: my nephew Mika'il's response. He is six: Question 1: What has your experience of lockdown been so far? Good, lot of stuff to do at home. Question 2: What are some of the ways that you have felt [...]
Just two weeks ago, an idea was born. i can't even remember where the inspiration came from actually but one day Character Stories for Children was not a thing and the next day it was. We have reached the end of our second week with 10 videos and two live stream Saturday morning shows under our belts. Character Stories has not been an overnight sensation. We haven't gone viral. And we don't have a [...]
We are on to day 18 of Lockdown in South Africa apparently... How are YOU doing so far? i imagine we all find ourselves at different places on the continuum between Losing it Completely and Enjoying the Ride. But there are definitely many people who face added challenges to some of us who have it relatively easy and this week i want to draw attention to some of those. The first group that comes [...]
And after a dramatic YouTube 2 minute countdown, the 'Character Stories for Children' channel was born. Born? Do YouTube channels get born. i mean, i guess it was conceived about five days ago... Based on a character i have dabbled with called Erik [with a K] who speaks/shouts people's favourite poems or stories at them with a bad German'ish accent. i had an idea to create some stories for children stuck at home during [...]
Monday sees the premiere launch of our new You Tube channel: Character Stories for Children. And as my friend Hairyette [who will be reading the very first story] tells me, it isn't actually only for little children - big children, even those of the adult variety, might really enjoy it too. Every day, from Monday to Friday, a new character will be reading a story, saying a poem and maybe even singing a song. [...]
