Congratulations to WK’s former Head of Theatre Arts who recently published a book titled, ‘The Bullet in the Pawpaw – Theatre and AIDS in South Africa.’ The book is a narration of Kim’s passion for South Africa, and her determination to contribute to the global effort to slow down the spread of HIV/AIDS through a unique interactive theatre process. For more information about the book and to read what people are saying about it, please click here.

Congratulations to WK alumnus James Ward for publishing a book titled, The Homecoming. Please help us celebrate the milestone of a member of our Kamhlaba community. James’s family once lived on the Waterford campus; his brother Thomas Ward (South Africa, WK 76 - 81) also attended WK when their late mother, Honor Ward, was a teacher at Waterford.
 
The Homecoming is a locally written novel set in Eswatini. Two young people drawn from radically different cultures and backgrounds find themselves thrown together by a family tragedy, facing an unimaginable loss and seemingly impossible odds, first as individuals and later as a mixed couple.

Between them they forge a relationship that crosses racial divides and find within each other an undying love. They create a shared life and eventually experience happiness that they never thought was possible. It is a melding of hearts and the beginning of a deeply emotional and satisfying final homecoming.

This unusual book is a poignant love story imbued with the warmth, the smells, the vivid colours and characters, the all-pervasive historic culture and deep vibrant richness of life in the farming communities of the Eswatini Lowveld.
 
Readers living outside South Africa who are keen to obtain a copy of The Homecoming can order directly from Amazon UK or Amazon US using their print on demand service. They can use this link or this one. Southern African buyers can send an email to James to order a copy.

Thank you to WK alumnus Professor Likoebe Maruping for sharing fond memories of WK and exciting updates on his life. This is what he said after receiving our last newsletter:
 
“Thanks for sharing this wonderful newsletter. It has brought back a lot of fond memories to read through all of the wonderful things that Waterford Kamhlaba has been accomplishing. I had the pleasure of attending WK 94-95. I am now a Full Professor of Computer Information Systems at Georgia State University. 
 
Two main updates I wanted to share:

Keep sharing the good news from WK. I had planned on making a visit in June of this year, but obviously had to defer due to Covid-19. I still hope to come and visit at the earliest opportunity.”

It is always heart-warming to receive such news from alumni and to get updates about their lives in general. The alumni space, Kamhlaba Connect, is a platform where we can share your good news and milestones with the rest of the alumni community. Please share those with us. We also greatly appreciate visits by alumni and look forward to these in the near future. Please continue to share memories of WK and major announcements like marriage or job appointments with us by sending an email; we will publish them in our next edition.

Waterford Kamhlaba alumni are involved in a number of incredible programmes, driving an agenda for positive change in their communities throughout the world. There is nothing as fulfilling as seeing our alumni taking with them the UWC values and ethos wherever they go. Quite recently, WK’s Advancement Director together with the school’s Alumni Engagement Officer visited Vuvulane Food Market in the eastern part of Eswatini and had an in-depth interview with the place’s Founding Director, Khulekani Msweli      who is one of WK’s alumni making positive change in the community.
 
Vuvulane Food Market is a simple organic food cafe, offering fresh and tasty meals. They also have a selection of home-grown herbal teas, coffee, a food garden and art installation. WK alumnus Khulekani Msweli took us through what the place is about, including the outreach programme they have which helps Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) around the community. Khulekani’s passion for the work he does could be seen on his face as he narrates the things they do. During this year’s World Food Day, Khulekani said something quite significant around food security in relation to the work that he does. He said:
“Our Vuvulane OVC Outreach Foundation in the past 8 years has served over 42 000 meals and has implemented the most amazing community organic backyard gardens in Vuvulane!
The simple, yet amazing Vuvulane Food Market, which I started last year, is fostering the importance of working closely with farmers and creating food that is healthy.
Food is why we are who we are. Let us protect the environment, know how our food is produced, grow our own food, share our surplus and make sure there is zero food waste."
 
We paid Khulekani a visit at Vuvulane Food Market in October and managed to catch him for an interview which is shown in the video above. You can also follow their page  on facebook.

Congratulations to our newest alumni, the Form 5 and IB2 classes of 2020 who have already joined WK and UWC’s large alumni network. Please join us as we welcome them to the UWC and WK family; we invite them to stay in touch and to get involved whenever they are able. WK will always be their second home.

This year’s Form 5 and IB graduation ceremonies will take place virtually on 13 and 14 November respectively. One positive outcome of the graduation being held on Zoom is that many more family members and alumni will be able to join the ceremony.

The story of Waterford Kamhlaba Head of Visual Arts and anti-racist activist Ramila Patel was featured in an article which appeared in the Black History Matters Publication. As WK we are proud of this inspirational history about one of our own who made a contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa and who continues to be an anti-racist activist. As a school established in opposition to South Africa's apartheid system and its laws of racial segregation, we uphold our values of justice and equality.

Unprecedented! That has been the word for 2020. While this year has brought new challenges, it has also brought us closer together. We are excited for all the programs that have taken place this year. From virtual year group reunions to the alumni speaker series and everything in the middle. It has been a great year to reconnect.      

Speaking of connection, we hope you will follow Kamhlaba connect – a wordpress site that has been created to be the Hub for WK alumni. While it has been a year of “new” possibilities, it has also been one filled with numerous occurrences. From the Australian wildfires to the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor that reignited the BLM movement, reminding us that in many parts of the world we still  have to fight to remind people that Black lives do Matter. In Africa, we continue to deal with high levels of corruption while issues of GBV continue to escalate in Eswatini and southern Africa as a whole. It is evident that the values that we hold as Kamhlaba alumni need to be upheld, that we have to effect change in our spheres of influence.

After all, while we may not always agree,Gandhi’s words “Be the change you want to see in the world” hold true. With this in mind, we will be launching a blog “We are Kamhlaba because they were” in 2021. The blog will be open to submissions from all WK Alumni, where you will share your stories that will be featured in the Newsletter and on Kamhlaba Connect. To find out how you can share your stories, please send an email.

For job opportunities, please visit Kamhlaba Connect to follow weekly updates and to share opportunities.

Do you have fond memories of WK or major announcements like marriage or job appointments that you would like to share with us? Please send an email and share those; we will publish them in our next edition.