EKONENI: Street Corner Stories

We round out our first season talking to Marcela Guerrero Casas, the Managing Director and co-founder of Open Streets Cape Town, which describes itself as "a citizen-driven initiative working to change how we use, perceive and experience streets.” Born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, Marcela lived and studied in the United States before moving to South Africa in 2006, first finding her feet in Johannesburg and then settling in Cape Town. Marcela’s outsider perspective has helped Capetonians imagine their streets differently, and her energy has steered those dreams towards reality. In this episode, we talk with Marcela about segregation, gentrification, questioning our place in the world, the power of small mindful actions, and the value of stubbornness. __ Ekoneni is supported by the American Corner Cape Town and the US Consulate of Cape Town. It's produced by Pam Sykes and Jenn Warren, with music by Bottled Sounds and the talented Shaun Lawler. Follow us on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Theo Ndindwa uses dance for social change, and co-founded the iKapa Dance Theatre with his wife Tanya Arshamian in 2007 to teach dance, empowerment and life skills to youth in townships around Cape Town. iKapa believes that “the transformation of South Africa lies with the development of disadvantaged communities and youth.” Theo returned to South Africa after years in the U.K, where he trained and performed with the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, amongst others. He is a 2014 participant of the U.S. Department of State’s Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI), and founded South Africa’s first international dance festival - the Cape Town International Dance Festival - in 2015. Theo and Tanya have partnered with multiple local and international institutions, people and communities; and ten years after the founding of iKapa, they look forward to changing more lives and communities through the creation of a holistic dance, arts and culture hub space in the Gugulethu township, where Theo grew up.

In this episode we meet William Mapham, the founder of Vula, a mobile phone app that connects patients and health care workers with specialist doctors quickly, easily and effectively. Like many developing countries, South Africa doesn't have enough doctors to go around, and the problem is most acute in remote, rural and underserved areas. Specialist advice can be quite literally be a matter of life and death: Can this patient be treated with the resources available on site? Do they need to visit a hospital? How urgently? Vula bridges the gaps between clinic and hospital, urban and rural, rich and poor, to bring the right advice to the right people at the right time. Learn more about Vula at www.vulamobile.com. Find a full transcript of this episode at www.ekoneni.com.

In Episode 5 of Ekoneni: Street Corner Stories we meet Rethabile Mashale Sonibare. Rethabile is the inspiring founder of the Thope Foundation, which is bringing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education to preteen girls in Khayelitsha, through an after school club that combines robotics and coding, with health and life skills. Rewriting this and other narratives has become Rethabile’s mission — and in the process, she has also become one of the successful black South African women she talks about — applying her ingenuity and heart to changing the world around her. Rethabile is a 2015 Mandela Washington Fellow, the flagship programme of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) that bring young Africans to the US, and she credits the fellowship with introducing her to an Africa-wide network of alumni that is helping to expand Thope Foundation and her new Molo Mhlaba School. Learn more at www.thopefoundation.org and www.molomhlaba.org. Find a full transcript of this episode at www.ekoneni.com.

In 2006, Luvuyo Rani opened up an Internet café in Khayelitsha, the largest township in Cape Town, after spending two years selling computers to teachers from the boot of his car. Today, Luvuyo is the founder of Silulo Ulutho Technologies, a proudly South African tech company that employs over 170 people across 45 branches. Luvuyo and his partners at Silulo Ulutho believe in access to technology as a means for disadvantaged South Africans to secure greater opportunities in education and employment, and address vast economic divisions. Silulo Ulutho empowers thousands of people with computer literacy, training and technical support, and fosters aspiring entrepreneurs through their Silulo Foundation franchise model. Learn more at www.silulo.com. Ekoneni is supported by the American Corner Cape Town. Applications for the 2018 Mandela Washington Fellowship Young African Leaders Initiative open from 13 September to 11 October, visit www.yali.state.gov for more info and to apply. Find a full transcript of this episode at www.ekoneni.com.

In the third episode of Ekoneni: Street Corner Stories, we meet Joy Olivier, Co-founder and Director of IkamvaYouth - a Cape Town organisation tackling poverty through education, one youth at a time. Ikamva means 'future' in Xhosa, and Joy and co-founder Makhosi Gogwana started IkamvaYouth in 2003 when they decided to volunteer as tutors at Makhosi's high school in Khayelitsha. Since then, IkamvaYouth has grown to an organisation spanning 60 branches in five South African provinces, helping almost 2,000 learners per year to graduate high school and prepare for tertiary education. South African youth face many obstacles that perpetuate disadvantage. Most township schools produce learners whose academic performance is below grade level. Poor matric results and low awareness of tertiary opportunities lead to high numbers of unemployed youth (estimated at over 60% in Khayelitsha, and over 50% across the country). Joy is dedicated to redressing inequality and injustice in South Africa through promoting equal access to quality education and opportunities. Find a full transcript of this episode at www.ekoneni.com.

In the second episode of Ekoneni: Street Corner Stories, we meet Cape Town director Shane Vermooten​, who just released his first feature length film and Africa's first medical thriller, BYPASS. BYPASS tackles the challenging subject of organ donation and highlights the underbelly of South Africa’s organ trafficking black market. With only 2% of South Africans on the organ donor list, filmmaker Shane Vermooten hopes to play a role in changing the low numbers of organ donation in the country. Shane is a 2015 Mandela Washington Fellow, the flagship programme of US President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) that empowers young people through academic coursework, leadership training and networking. In 2016, he was named as one of the Mail & Guardian's 200 Young South Africans. Learn more at www.bypassmovie.com. Find a full transcript of this episode at www.ekoneni.com.

Welcome to EKONENI's sneak peek of Episode 2, where we meet Shane Vermooten - a director from Cape Town who just released his first feature length film and Africa's first medical thriller, BYPASS, highlighting the underbelly of South Africa’s organ trafficking black market.

In the first episode of Ekoneni: Street Corner Stories, we meet Tamburai Chirume the co-founder of ONEOFEACH, a mother and daughter design duo based in Cape Town. ONEOFEACH is driven by Tamburai and her mother Pauline's love for the African continent and desire to celebrate and share its history, by creating a luxury product made in a Africa, for the world. They source traditional patterned fabrics using methods like wax printing and pit-and-stone dyeing processes from Mali, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Congo-Brazzaville, and combine them with leather and suede to make one-of-a-kind handbags and accessories. Tamburai was recently selected by the US Consulate General Cape Town to participate in the prestigious International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) later this year, a professional exchange for current and emerging foreign leaders in a variety of fields. Pauline is a fashion designer and contemporary visual artist with over 30 years of experience. To purchase stunning accessories from ONEOFEACH, visit www.oneofeach.co.za. Find a full transcript of this episode at www.ekoneni.com.

Welcome to EKONENI's sneak peek of Episode 1, where we meet Tamburai Chirume - co-founder of ONEOFEACH, a mother and daughter design duo based in Cape Town. ONEOFEACH is driven by Tamburai's love for the African continent and desire to celebrate and share its history, by creating a high end, luxury product made in a Africa for the world.

Ekoneni: Street Corner Stories is supported by the U.S. Consulate of Cape Town and the American Corner, Cape Town Central Library. Our ad music "Sea Legs" is by Bottled Sounds and Shaun Lawler. Photo by Theon Reilly Pather / ACCT.