Groundswell of Good in the Cape of Good Hope Salvation Doesn’T Come to Us from the Top
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Photo courtesy of Trevor Ball. See Pg 27. Groundswell of Good in the Cape of Good Hope Salvation doesn’t come to us from the top. It isn’t A bold statement, but think about it? In every positive handed down to us by our leaders and government, interaction we build community. In each caring though many of us spend our lives waiting for just that... moment, someone who felt alone and hopeless learns for life to improve because of policy changes made by that there is a community out there who cares about ‘major’ players. what happens to it’s members, a community who wants Over the past few months, I watched with a growing the best for everyone. fascination and sense of wonder as the Hout Bay For too long now, we have lived divided, isolated and Facebook community, individual by individual, began afraid. And in fear, we remain cold and disconnected, helping each other. I’ve seen attitudes change and strangers in a town of thousands. By being disconnected, understanding born, I’ve seen that the ‘major’ players by not knowing the people we all share space with, we are the people in your life who have a direct impact, the feed fear. ones on the ground, who make a difference. Be it Positively Hout Bay, Hout Bay Organised, Hout Just smile and say “Hi!” Bay Massive or any other group, people out there are communicating with, and learning about, each other. Yet this gentle bubble, this slow growing, luscious Dialogue goes back and forth, politics raises it’s head groundswell of communication and goodness that is and one can almost hear the predicted group sigh, but percolating right here amongst us, gives us good reason from that comes open discussion. to hope for a better tomorrow. Instead of tempers being allowed to overrun a meeting, A kind word, gratitude for a kind service, eye contact, digitally, we are able to follow a thread, absorb what the gift of one’s time and meaningful interaction each member is saying and contribute if the urge arises. build us a community of people who care about their Oftentimes, I find myself agreeing with both ‘sides’ neighbours. because I haven’t been forced to pick one. And in most Positivity breeds positivity (the same can be said for cases the discussions end in an offer of help that leads, it’s opposite) so, instead of keeping your head down yet again, to positive change in Hout Bay. and trying to make your way safely through your life Big or small, favours are crisscrossing the valley almost without too much disruption or chaos, fearing the ‘what constantly: a helping hand, legal advice, employment, ifs’ and bemoaning the ‘why me’s’, lift up that chin, an elusive recipe or a fancy car on loan for a special smile at the world, make eye contact with a stranger occasion, the people of Hout Bay are reaching out to and just say ‘Hi!’. You MAY make a new friend, you each other in innumerable ways, and no matter the size WILL improve someone’s day. of the favours or the amount of your time that you offer, Keep it real, join the groundswell and enjoy Issue 2. it is all life changing. Oh, and don’t forget: we are unapologetically “Ra-Ra!” Sales & Marketing Content & Layout Fiona Mills Jess Morgan [email protected] [email protected] 084 555 7999 Advertising 082 777 3024 Brooke Irving Silikamva [email protected] High www.thegoodtimes.co.za School Published by Fiona Mills & Jess Morgan Siphiwo Ngcipe - A Hout Bay Super Hero! Siphiwo now trains both children and adults to its owner. So I thought I’d take it a step at the Hout Bay Library as well as being a further, why not?” driving instructor. At the shop where he had the phone During his interview with Tom, Siphiwo, repaired they advised him to rather keep the laughed self-deprecatingly, saying much phone, as he had paid for the repair and had had been made of a small incident with no guarantee that he’d get the money back, a cellphone. Tom however was right in but he declined. asking him to walk us through what he was “I gave it some thought and I thought, you thinking when going to all this trouble to know what, this is what I would wish for return a phone. someone else to have done, I know what a “I got to the phone, tried to see whose it hassle it can be and it was a Blackberry and “Behaviour is something you adopt from your surroundings. Probably 90% of people Tom Purcell & Siphiwo at Republic Radio out there would have done the same thing but behaviour is something you adopt from Speaking of social media, I watched in your surroundings. Probably 90% of people fascination in early August when local out there would have done the same thing Remax estate agent, Hadi Ertinger posted I did. This is the norm for me in Hout Bay. I did. This is the norm for me in Hout Bay. a heartwarming story on the Hout Bay I’m surrounded by like-minded people, I’m Organised Facebook group. I’m surrounded by like-minded people, I’m surrounded by angels you know...So Hout While viewing a house in Ruyteplaats one Bay can be proud, and thank you Hout morning, Hadi realised that her cellphone Bay.” was missing. Panicked, she retraced her surrounded by angels...” A quiet and unassuming hero, he earlier this steps all the way back to her car but her year apprehended 5 youths who had broken Blackberry was nowhere to be found. was, but it wouldn’t switch on. I thought most Blackberry owners have their whole into his car. He retrieved all his goods from With a sinking heart, Hadi returned to maybe it’s flat, I put it in the charger, still lives stored on their phones! I said to the them and in the ten minutes they waited for her office, readying herself for the task no response, then I looked at it closely and guy just make sure you give me a receipt the police to arrive, Siphiwo invited them to of building up her lost information and I could see that the screen was a bit gone. and the old screen so it’s at least believable come to his martial arts school. renewing her sim card and all that goes I took out the sim card, put it in my phone because I wouldn’t have believed it myself, “I’ll introduce you to a new way of life, I’ll with it. to see if I could see any of the contacts, but still I need to do it you know?” He teach you a skill, teach you a thing or two you know, but it had a password. So I took laughs as he remembers the guys looking about how to be. And I could see it in their out the memory card to see the pictures, to at him as if he was crazy, “Look, I’ve got faces, they got it!” he said. “The real see if there’s anyone I recognised. Nope. It to do what I’ve got to do, I’ll sleep better A good man making a difference one looked like friendly people in the pics and at night.” “small” deed at a time! deal!” stuff, but nobody I recognised.” He laughs In response to all the comments made by Should you wish to learn the ancient art and continues, “A few thoughts occurred people on HB Organised, Siphiwo felt that of Kung Fu or simply meet a real life However, waiting in her inbox was an to me, you know, leave it the gate with some of the credit should go back to them. hero, Siphiwo, the current South African e-mail with a difference. security or drop it at the police station, but “I am a product of Hout Bay. I came from Wushu Champion, can be contacted on Hadi writes, “One of my e-mails is from there are no guarantees it’s going to go back PE 10 years ago with my own personality, [email protected] or www.liwu.co.za a Siphiwo, who says he thinks he picked up my phone outside Ruyteplaats, it was lying in the road and it seemed like a car had nipped it because the LCD was broken. He said he had this repaired at a cost of R850.00 to be able to see who the phone belonged to and hence his e-mail to me with his cell number. Well, I thought what a scam, but I need my phone more, so I called Siphiwo, who promptly came to my office, showed me a receipt and my old LCD.” Siphiwo Ngcipe, much to Hadi’s delight, turned out to be “the real deal”. So much so, that Hadi shared her experience on Facebook, a post that garnered 206 likes and 89 comments and led to an interview with Tom Purcell on our awesome local station, Republic Radio. On the Saturday morning, following the incident on the Tuesday, Tom invited Siphiwo to join him in the studio for a chat. Seven times undefeated South African Wushu (Kung Fu) champion, Siphiwo has earned South African colours three times, representing South Africa at the World Championships in Hanoi,Vietnam in 2005, Beijing, China in 2007 and Toronto, Canada in 2009, coming in in fourth place twice.