Dear Africana Woman,
How are you today? I had a great session teaching the Monetise Your Business Series. Today we focused on Instagram. You know I always go in thinking uh not sure if I will do this again. Then its camera lights action. My friend, it’s like someone takes over and a star is born lol. So dramatic. What I am trying to say is that I absolutely love teaching. Now my mother was a teacher for many years and I always thought it must be a monotonous process. Because every year you are teaching the same thing over and over. As a creative person it’s like eik can I do this teaching thing forever? It might not be stimulating enough. The great thing is unlike a government stipulated curriculum that never budges, I have the flexibility to mix up my classes in terms of delivery, class size, interaction, content etc.
By the way, do you know how one goes about lobbying policy change in Zambia? I just discovered that I would like to lobby a change of our curriculum. I believe that we need to add financial literacy and emotional intelligence to it. In addition, the core subjects should be reframed to be African centred. From the little research that I have done, what I have found is that most organisations are advocating or working towards access to education, but no one is actually talking about what students are actually learning, which is crazy to me. Sure, if a student gets access but the content is archaic then what is the point of this thing you call education. If you know how one goes about influencing policy change and lobbying to government kindly point me in the right direction. Thank you so much. I appreciate you.
In the Africana Woman Book Club for the months of April and May we read Hlomu: The Wife by Dudu Busani-Dube. Then we had our book review a couple days ago. I love books, always have. I think I have talked about this before. I adore books. Our book club is a mix of women from across the world. There are women from Cape to Cairo. African women living in Europe, Asia and North America. We select a book to read by voting. Usually we read one book per month but Hlomu is long so we agreed to two months. Hmmmm. We’ll come back to this. Then at the end of the month we have a review. I live for the reviews. We really get into great discussions about the social issues underlying the book in relation to our own lives. It is a safe space for deep conversations. You can also be vulnerable with absolutely no judgement.
Now Sis Dudu has the mastery of a pen. Once you start the book, you will have to finish. THESE ARE LOOOOOONG BOOOKS my friend but you will have to finish. So there is no sleeping when you start a Dudu book. You start today, and you will sleep when you finish. Others were almost fired at work for reading. There is absolutely no productivity when you start. You have been warned. If you decide to touch these books do not do it when you have deadlines, exams, or new born babies … Anyway, Hlomu is based in Joburg, South Africa so it’s nice to see yourself reflected in the story. I mean most times we are reading about abena so an so in Bridgerton or abaku Amelika. But to have these characters deeply rooted on the mother continent is so beautiful. But Sis Hlomu really takes us on an emotional rollercoaster ride. Mmmm the discussion in the Review was expansive. You got to hear different points of views from different generations and from women from all sorts of backgrounds. It was fascinating. Of course, as a global village we have to do our reviews online. But these ladies are such a vibe. Please always feel welcome. No one is a stranger in AWV. What I loved was when I was posting about the review on social media I tagged Sis Dudu and she reposted on her page. Then people saw it from there and asked to join the Review. We had so much fun. Cannot wait for our June book which is the Hairdresser of Harare by Tendai Huchu. If you want to join the book club hit me up on socials. I’ll get you all set up.
I guess I am done for the day. It’s lovely to do the things that breathe life into your heart. I hope you know what that thing is for you. If this is your first time here, Welcome Sweetheart. You have joined a loving family. Make sure you click the subscribe button and you will receive these letters directly. Africana Woman is a blog, podcast and community, so get the most out of it. To you my dear who is a Live Hard reader I salute thee. Catch me on socials on Instagram @ChulubyDesign. Finally, always remember to love yourself flaws n all and attract the life that you truly desire. Day 13 done. #30DaysWriting
Love you Sis
Chulu