Nyiko Speaks...

I feel like I must have won top prize when God was handing out older sisters. I feel like I won the jackpot in the sister lotto!!  I really could not asked for a better sister!!! Five years my senior, she plays the older sister role very well..I really don't know what would have become of me without her...no I'm serious I mean that lol. Like all that she is and all the the things she does with such zeal and love is really beyond me!  Where would I even start? Or maybe let start me with how she bowled me over today and then  I will see what other stories I can manage to fit into this blog entry. Ok so as we speak (or is it as is write?) well anyway... I am on a flight to New York. I had such a busy day. I had planned to leave the office early at about midday, go to the shops quickly, go home and start packing. I eventually only managed to leave the office at 4pm...that did not leave me anytime to go via the shops so I had made peace with the fact that I would just head home ...

Freedom.  The word carries so much meaning, especially in societies that have have waged war in the name of Freedom. My beloved South Africa is no different. Just like any other country, South Africa has experienced decades and decades of colonialism as is conventionally understood. The country also experienced a colonialism of a "special" kind in the form of apartheid, with the coming to power of the National Party in 1948.  Many men and women, most notably from the largest NGO in South Africa, the African National Congress sacrificed a lot to contribute to the concerted effort to topple the inhumane and unjust system that saw the majority of the peoples of this land treated like the scum of the earth. Both those who had gone into exile and those that had remained to fight the system from within deserve a special bow.  Today, we celebrate the youth of 1976. We salute the class of  1976 for having the courage to challenge the unjust system,that saw the African child re...

A few weeks ago, I received a watsapp message from a very good friend of mine telling me that her aunt had passed on to glory. Even though I had never met her, I knew about her and what a big role she had played in my friend, Dimakasto's upbringing and life in general.  I met Dimakatso in 2008, where we were both interns at the same department. We hit if off immediately. I have a pretty good idea why we hit the ground running! Dima, as I call her, is woman of faith, a daughter of the Most High God. So when our paths crossed, I knew that I had found a sister in Christ!  Over the years that we have known each other, there have been extended periods of time where we have not seen each other, but the fact that we share the very same foundation, has kept our friendship alive! After the service, on 20 April 2014, I met her siblings and other family members and it actually felt like I had known these people for as long as I had know Dima. Such a warm family. I ended up spending the af...

The Mighty Baobab has fallen.  I can say with a great degree of certainty that I speak for most South Africans when I say what a blessing it has been to have had a giant walk amongst us. The giant, the mighty Baobab: Nelson Mandela. I can think of no other man who has had such a profound impact on, not only South Africans, but humanity as a whole.  This mighty Baobab, lived to the ripe mold age of 95! I always say that somehow after spending all those years in prison, God had to make it up him by ensuring that he lives past the age of 80! However, even though He was old and had fulfilled his God-given mandate it was still a shock when I was told, on the morning of the 6th of December that the great hero had gone gently into the eternity the night before. A sense of numbness and bewilderment and perhaps even disorientation overcame me. As I flipped through the various tv channels, both national and international, all I saw was Madiba coverage. As I drove to work that Friday morning, ...

In Christ, there is restoration. As people, we are on a journey. We may not be of the world, but yet we live in the world. The world can be a pretty hostile place to find yourself in, especially if you are not of it. The Bible tells us that although we live in the world, we ought not to live as people of the world. We are children of the light, citizens of heaven, and ambassadors of heaven on earth. Despite, this truth that I have just mentioned above, at times we may find ourselves – even the most vigilant people- having temporarily blurred the line between ‘citizens of the world’ and ‘citizens of heaven’. But the good thing is that that internal compass that always points to our eternal home is forever on. That internal compass will forever and continually point us in the direction of home. So no matter how much or how long we may lived between the blurred lines, that compass will always speak to us to remind us of our actual citizenship in the Kingdom of God.  Okay, I think I’m s...

It was just over a year ago, when Gugu and I launched MFP (Mega Faith Project). It was on a Tuesday after cell group and we were just having a wild conversations about some of our aspirations and dreams that would be fueled by mega faith and work! Well, God being God has surely delivered, a few short months after the launch of MFP, Gugu was proposed to and that was the beginning of the manifestation of what we were were ( and still are) believing God for!! The year has flown by at great speed and in just five short days, 7 December 2013, Gugu will walk down the aisle and marry her man, Mzwandile. My MFP partner, I wish you all of the very best as you prepare for your wedding day and your marriage!! I pray that God will bless you and Mzwandile as you build your home on the foundation and Rock that is Christ Jesus! May you both continue to prosper! I look forward to Saturday, and am speechless at your request for me to co-MC your wedding!Screaming inside with utter excitement!!! But...

Every time I do my job, I thank God for my job!!  Truly, it feels like its more than an 8-16:30 kind of thing. Of course it has it's challenges like any other job/career I guess, but for the most part this is what I was born to do. This career is absolutely me!! For as long as I can remember I have had this deep interest in all things that are to do with my continent, I am proud to have been born on this continent! I am passionate about Africa, about her advancement, about her development. The diverse people, the cultures, the way of life....all of it just grips me! For as long as I can remember I have wanted to travel, to travel within in Africa specifically! And man I feel blessed because my job entails exactly that! I work on issues that speak directly to Africa's development and as such I get to couple two of my passions : AFRICA and traveling. Each time I touch down in a different African city- Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Lagos, Accra, Monrovia, Dakar - in ca...