Kay Lorentz is part of a project on how to combat hunger and teach agriculture skills to the different communities.

Due to Covid 19, a lot of people in the country were left unemployed, which created a huge rate of hunger in the country. This issue motivated them to create their Messy Aid project.

Some economies are predicting that there is a possibility of a huge inflation to come and have a negative impact in the country. This could lead the things in the country to be expensive and majority of the people not being able to afford essential things. The project started with Kay Lorentz and her trainer in 2020 when she was attending a Vulnerable Kids Training program, and in her networking, She and her team realised that in the state the country was in, hunger was concerning and how it could kill many, especially children. They decided as a team to look for funding to start their project.  

Kay say when they looking for a community to feed, they first find the “heroes” of that community, people that want to be effective in their community but do not know where to begin. After finding those heroes, they get information from them, about their community and which areas need food. 

Contact details: www.mdzananda.co.za

Presenter/ Producer: Mkuseli Khusi Veto 

Written by: Bamba Damane 

Cape Town Society for the Blind is stepping up for the blind in our city

CTSB explained its views and standpoints on Morning Cruise

Sergil January, member of the Cape Town Society for the blind, explained on Morning Cruise how important it is to have the right infrastructure for the blind and visually impaired. It is not easy to get around in the Captonian traffic as it is, but it is even harder if you are blind or visually impaired. 

The Cape Town Society for the Blind organizes a lot of initiatives to help blind and visually impaired people in their skills. At their centre you can follow courses to learn braille, learn how to work with a computer, how to do groceries, how to cross the street, and many more. In this way blind and visually impaired people can get around more easily and gain back their independence. 

Currently a lot of blind and visually impaired people are facing challenges in the Capetonian Traffic. Due to loadshedding a lot of the traffic light indicators for the blind stop working. This makes it very dangerous for blind and visually impaired people to cross the road. Another big obstacle for them are the motorcyclist, they tend not to obey the traffic rules which adds another layer of difficulty for the blind and visually impaired. 

According to Sergil January an easy solution could be provided by the local authorities. Simply replacing the existing indicators by solar powered ones so they can load during the day and keep on working during load shedding.

In addition to that Sergil added that a little bit of help goes a long way. If you see a blind or visually impaired person struggle on the street, just ask if you can be of any assistance.

If you want to learn more about the Cape Town Society for the Blind or if you are interested in their activities, you can find some more information on their 

website; https://capetownsocietyfortheblind.co.za/

Presenter: Mkhuseli Veto

Producer: Camille Van den Berg

BLOU

                                                BLOU

 

Morning Cruise welcomed the energetic crew members of the BLOU production. The director of the entire production goes by the name of Chester Miggles.

 

As we got further into the conversation, we asked Chester what the production was about and why the name BLOU was suitable. He then went on and shared that the storyline behind the story comes from everyone that experienced some sort of hurt in their life.

 Futhermore, some of the inspiration for the production also comes from mental health disorders such as; depression, bipolar disorder, and even PTSD. They also said that it took a lot of preparation for the production to be a success as they needed to search and fact check the information they had found.

 Some of the things that was shared was that this production will be showcasing at the Baxter Theatre on the 28^th and 21^st of March next week.  They are encouraging everyone to please go and support and tickets  cost R30 on webtickets.

 

Chester mentioned that he initially was a school teacher but wasn’t really happy when he was doing that. That led him leave his job and pursue a life in the creative space and work on his skills by studying at Northlink collage and encouraging others to follow their goals as well.

 

Despite the interview being short and sweet, we also learnt that the life of actors can be quite difficult and challenging but they hope that the production will be a success. One of the things that also hope to get across is that they want people to be more aware and acceptant of mental health disorders.

Producer: Jamie Fredericks

Presenter: Khusi Veto and Jamie Fredericks 

Kusasalethu Group

                                                          DADDY DIARIES

 

Morning cruise was joined today by the Kusasalethu group. It is a black owned non-profit organisation that was founded in April 2016. We were fortunate enough to have two of the founding members with us in studio named Khaya and Bongani.

 

As the interview continued, Jamie asked our guests to please share more about the organisation. Bongani shard with us that they are currently running five different programmes within the organisation. He also mentioned that he reason for wanting the interview with Bush radio was to announce their event that was taking place on April 1^st next month.

 

One of the things that stood out while Bongani was explaining was that the organisation was started because they had come across a young boy headed to school carrying his school books in a carrier bag instead of a proper schoolbag. Furthermore he mentioned that a very important program they run is also a sanitary towel drive for young girls who look for money to buy these supplies from other people and that is what leads them to skip school most days.

Shifting the topic more towards the event that will be taking place. Reece asked Khaya and Bongani what their opinion was on the role that most men have to play and how society always expects men to be strong and show no emotion. Khaya quickly responded to Reece and said that they want to break the stereotypes around what men have to be in the society and that the aim of the event is to speak and get in touch with most Fathers because majority of children grow up without fathers in their lives.

 

Bongani then added and said that they encourage people to please attend the event happening on the 1^st of April at 10am till 3pm at site C, Khayalitsha. Th entry fee is R200 for a father and three children and the day includes food and activities for the children as well as educational talks and skills for the fathers with some special gifts as well that remain a surprise. 

Presenter: Jamie Fredericks&Reece Adams

Producer: Jamie Fredericks

Andrew Freedman

 

ANANDA VARDHAN

 

On the morning cruise show today we were honoured to be joined by Andrew Freedman. He also goes by the name Ananda Vardhan for a more spiritual term.

Bush Radio’s Khusi asked Ananda where his musical journey had begun. He then responded and shared that he was inspired by artists like The Beatles, he even went further on to saying that he initially wrote a song for the Beatles and their producer at the time reached out and shared some of his work in which he was extremely honoured.

 

Andrew also explained that his music is very spiritual. He makes music that can make all people feel something deeper. While also going deeper into the conversation, he mentioned that huis proud to say that his music is being played abroad and overseas on other radio stations that side of the world and that is why he feels that his music can reach everyone and not just a limited crowd.  

 

We then continued the interview by playing another one of his songs titled “Soulfree”.  Jamie then proceeded to ask if all his songs were intentionally long and if that is something he wanted the listener to go through. Andrew replied and shared that the music he makes is not long on purpose but rather something that feels. He has also added that he has some songs that are shorter but it’s more about him going back and forth about which songs should be longer or shorter or added onto.

 

In closing, Mr Vardhan also shared that him and his wife both share and run a mediation and yoga centre which is situated in Milnerton and his wife also sells spiritual items that is equipped to everyone’s needs. You can also check out some of his albums and other music on live streams such as Spotify and Facebook to keep up with what he’ll be doing next.

Presenter: Khusi Veto and Jamie Fredericks

Producer: Jamie Fredericks

Mailo Music& Zain SA

 

Mailo Music

Today on the line we were joined by Mailo Music. Sivamthanda Thomas, an artist who comes all the way from Khayelitsha. He is best known for his versatile Dj and his music production.

The versatility that Mailo has ranges from house to all-round dance music. Today we had the opportunity to speak to Mailo live via telephone so that he could explain more about his creative process and also to discuss his latest track titled “BUYA”.

 

When our presenter Khusi asked mailo about how his career had started, he responded by saying that he realized early on that he had a talent for creating and playing great music, he then took a step further and entered one of the biggest reality TV shows at the time on SABC 1 named “1’s and 2’s”. It wasn’t long after that when he got crowned master of spin 2018 on that same TV program.

Continuing with the interview, Mailo mentioned that Zain SA, a friend that worked with him on the track was unable to join in on the call as he had gone to the Eastern Cape. Despite all that, the presenters of the morning cruise noticed that he sounded quite soft and tired. Mailo the responded and said that he was busy the entire night and early hours of the morning working on his album that is soon to be released.

The conversation shifted a different way when Jamie asked about what it was like to switch to a newly established music label.  He answered and mentioned that it didn’t come without struggle and nerves but ultimately it was about the sound and music they were creating at the time and he wanted to go with someone that understood the vision.

 

Ending it off on a strong note, Mailo told us that his album releasing in June is something to look forward too. He dropped a few names like Dj Tira and many more that will be featuring on this album and he hopes to take it with him to the world. He added that anyone who wants to catch him on social media can do so @MailoMusic on all social media platforms or @MailoMusic_SA.

Producer: Jamie-lee Fredericks

Presenter: Mkhuseli Khusi Veto&Jamie-lee Fredericks

Feryal Domingo sheds light on Inyathelo's mission

On today's rendition of the Morning Cruise, Jamie, Ben, and Jonah chatted to Feryal Domingo, Acting Executive Director of Inyathelo. A non-profit established in 2002, Inyathelo is an organization dedicated to establishing a true democracy and stable Civil Society in South Africa and other African countries. 

Inyathelo offers a comprehensive source of support for the South African non-profit, philanthropic, social justice and Advancement sectors. A "Civil Society Sustainability Hub" in Cape Town is the focus of their facilities and resources. They primarily focus on teaching through collaboration, publications, leadership articles, research, and capacity building training and tools that support "Inyathelo's 10 Elements of Advancement Model." Feryal emphasized that Inyathelo has been working hard to have all of these learning tools and initiatives available online for all to use.  

Past initiatives have included programs like the "Youth in Philanthropy Programme South Africa" which focused on educating high school students about the social responsibility of community service and volunteerism. Inyathelo has previously partnered with the Rhodes University Business school and hosted a six day accredited short course on Advancement and Resource Mobilization. The course was designed to give young professionals real world concepts to bring back to their everyday jobs. These are just two of the many successful project that Inyathelo has created and an example of the many beautiful projects they have coming. Please listen to our interview now available on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgD2cIoehow) and visit their website (https://www.inyathelo.org.za/index.php) to learn more. 

Benjamin Guarna