STORY 1: why doodlesak?
It began a long time ago...
When I was a young lad my folks (as we are of Scottish decent) used to take us to "Highland shows". Loads of marching bands, bagpipes, tossing of the caber and other equally important stuff...oh and the tug of war...loved that. Got to dress up in "ma kilt" and swan around with a dagger in my sock...as one does. Goal - to be in a marching band of course. So - off to lessons it was with me. Turned out I was too young and my fingers could not span the holes on the flute that controls the squealing cat...
What I did learn however was that the Afrikaans word for bagpipes, or perhaps the slang, was "doodlesak". Much hilarity all round. Life happened as it does and I hung onto the word and in the last few years started toying with the idea of repurposing it to be a "sack for my doodles"...my own Doodlesak. And so it was. And here we are.
Yup - thats me in a dress! Looking on and planning.
STORY 2: DESPAIR
Visiting a school in rural KwaZulu Natal - close to the Drakensberg.
My journey has taken me into a space that means a lot to me. That of education. I've always believed that it's the key to correcting so much of what's wrong in this world. A particular aspect of education has become a huge focus for me and it's that of ECD (Early Childhood Development).
These are the first 6 years of a child's life and they create a foundation for the remaining years.
I took this photo from inside a school close to Bergville in KZN. I know the security for the kids is a good thing, many school don't have it at all, but past the fence and razor wire, and past the rural homesteads in the middle ground, lies the mighty Quathlamba, the barrier of spears that many know as the Drakensberg. I grew up climbing in these beautiful mountains and never once was I aware that right there, in plain sight, a battle was raging on a daily basis for children to get access to a basic human right - education.
I called this drawing "Despair". I've been to so many ECD creches and organisations across South Africa and in almost every single I'm told that what they are doing is not enough. We need way, way more to address what is a national crisis. Once the caregivers or teachers have taken you on a tour of the creche and you've met the amazing young children with hope and potential in their eyes, they take you to a quiet place to talk. It's there that they implore or beg you to help. Their gratitude is sincere and I've met some of the most amazing people (mostly women) whose love and skill for this work is overwhelming - but still - they need more.
Maybe it's me that despairs at the scale of the crisis. Maybe it's the despair of the parents of the children that do not receive this basic human right and an opportunity for a better world.
The struggle is real and many times on humanitarian expeditions around this country focusing on ECD, I've had to go and stand in a quiet place, try to regroup, be strong and carry on.
My deepest thanks and gratitude go out to all the unsung hero's making do with what they have and what they know to help lift a child to a better place.
I'm proud to be part of a company that has developed a program to integrate ECD material into our mainstream work and with the help of key partners, distribute this material nationally.
As the saying goes - "Businesses cannot succeed in a society that is failing". We have to help however we can.
A link to the 20 minute speech explaining how our program works.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9H0up5uUT0&feature=emb_logo
STORY 4: THE MIGHTY YAK
tbc
coming soon