READ, READ AND READ SOME MORE

I cannot imagine a day going by without me having my nose in a book somewhere along the line. Whether it is 'poised on the pot', sitting in the lounge waiting for something that I want to watch to come on TV, waiting for someone to arrive for a meeting or just the sheer pleasure of a quick read just before dozing off - books have been my friends from early childhood.

Growing up on the farm as an only child (until I was 5 1/2) and then the birth of my brother (who was such a dissappointment - well he couldn't walk and talk and just lay there and squealed and who spent most of the day squirting from either one end or the other), means I lived mostly inside my own imagination - which was furiously fueled by whatever story I was reading at the time.

Upon arriving at boarding school at the grand old age of 5 1/2, and never having had the pleasure of children in a playgroung, I retreated further into my own imagination and into the books that had, up until then been the only friends I had. Unable to interact with other children, because I didn't know how, I spent more and more time with my books, until at the very old age of 8, I had depleted all the reading material in the school library! Most nights would find me under the covers with a torch and my book of the moment.

The result of course is that today, I still have my love affair with books of all kinds and all subjects. I have progressed from reading one book at a time to reading several, and doing a quick count here this morning, I discover that I am currently reading 8 books.

The reason for spending all of this time telling you about my reading habits, is purely this - reading books, magazines, newpapers all keep you up to date with what is happening around you. It keeps you informed. It helps you to grow as a person. It helps you to expand your knowledge through the experiance and wisdom of others.

There is nothing more exciting than starting a new book - the journey starts, and in some personal instances there is nothing sadder than coming to the end of a captivating book!

So, in closing - I urge you all, read, read and then read some more - some of your greatest experiances will come through a book that you have read.

Read, read and read some more!

13 March 2007 10:59

Bookworm: Judy Nwokedi

Her multiple skills make it rather difficult to describe her in just one word. And in trying to capture the essence of who she really is, one would need a dozen superlatives. Her name is Judy Nwokedi, a sportsperson, psychologist, health activist, media specialist, filmmaker ... the list goes on and on. Nwokedi was born in Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape. She was one of the children who was always eager to learn and seek knowledge. So at all times she was buried in books. Small wonder then that at the age of 16 she was already a student at the University of Cape Town, where she graduated “with a class medal in Sotho”.

In 1982, owing to the political situation in the country, she was forced to go into exile and the first country she set foot in was Australia. As an avid softball player she immediately impressed people with her skills and later joined the sports ministry to help “professionalise” the Australian amateur sport. Her training in psychology, which she studied up to master’s level, saw her landing the important job of being a civilian psychologist in the Australian Correctional Services. The idea was to draw on her South African experience in fundamentally transforming the prison system. More importantly, she served in the Royal Commission into Black Deaths in Custody, managed a drugs programme and helped develop alternate models of dealing with juvenile detention.

“They thought I could bring in a different perspective that would be important for their commission,” said Nwokedi. She returned to South Africa in 1993, when she was headhunted to “develop advocacy as a democratic tool in South Africa”. She was also instrumental in forming the National Progressive Primary Health Care Network through which she trained “leading political stakeholders” for six months on healthcare reform. Through this initiative, she also secured funding for the media to focus more on development issues. Since then her interest in the media has grown, and in 1997 she set up a consultancy firm and its focus continues to be advocacy.

Through this she worked closely with regional representatives in countries such as Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe around issues of media deregulation. LoveLife, which is hailed as one of the most successful initiatives to support and reach out to young South Africans on HIV/Aids issues, was her consultancy’s “flagship programme”. Nwokedi is also well respected in the broadcasting community, having worked at the SABC’s Public Broadcasting Service that comprised 15 radio stations and two television stations. Now Nwokedi is the national manager of Motorola South Africa and the only black female board member.

Which school did you go to? Athlone High in the Cape Flats.

Who was your favourite teacher and why? Mr Blake, my Latin teacher. He introduced me to poetry and communism. He awakened within me the desire for literature, language and classics.

What were your favourite subjects and why? Science, Latin and biology, simply because I was good at them. I always got 90% or more.

What do you miss most about your school days? All the time we had, the gay abandon of youth. It was such a period of sheer indulgence.

What is your advice to the learners out there? I would say to them: 10% talent and 90% perspiration. You’ve got to work hard, nothing comes for nothing and don’t be fooled by students who say “I didn’t”. Read, read and read -- there is no substitute for hard work