Wanda Hennig

Why there is life and hope in Msinga

editor — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 15:56:48 +0000

Life does not get much more desperate than in KwaZulu-Natal’s dirt-poor Msinga region. HIV/Aids and TB are rife, Aids orphans are a norm, few economic resources exist and 68 percent of the population, which is estimated to be around 160 000, is illiterate. Dr. Maxwell Mudhara, director of the Farmer Support Group, located on the Pietermaritzburg campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, is uplifting women and giving hope with his project. Story and photos by Wanda Hennig This article was first published in the Sunday Tribune, South Africa, in May 2011. Arid and ...

The power of poetry and Colombian Fernando Réndon’s pen

editor — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:58:36 +0000

Poetry Africa 2011, Durban Colombian poet Fernando Réndon, in Durban this week for the 15th Poetry Africa festival, has helped transform Medellín, Colombia’s second largest city — known as a world capital of drug trafficking, terror and violence — into a world capital of poetry. © Wanda Hennig, 2011 When Fernando Réndon and a few of his friends organized the first International Poetry Festival of Medellín in 1991, the city was known as the epicenter of the cocaine trade and the world capital of drug trafficking. The so-called ‘Medellín cartel’, a multi-billion dollar ...

Inspiring quotes from Steve Jobs: 1955 – 2011

editor — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 10:18:18 +0000

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” “It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to ...

Culinary Kenya: Tough old bird doesn’t cut it; Molo lamb does

editor — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 19:38:30 +0000

Story and pics: Wanda Hennig I didn’t go to Kenya for a culinary experience. I went with a commission to write about a nonprofit doing some amazing work there. Fortunately on any assignment one has to eat. (Except on our first working day, when nobody wanted to take the time to stop for food. Which was fine, because as I say, we weren’t there to eat. Although, isn’t it fun to fit in a little culinary exploration?) I flew Johannesburg to Nairobi last week on Kenya Airways, my first experience with what ...

On the road from Durban: Nambiti and Qambathi escapes

editor — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 05:29:29 +0000

We would set off from Durban and drive about three hours to Nambiti Plains Private Game Lodge. We would go on game drives, hopefully see the Big Five, and food-wise, there was a vegetarian focus. Next day we would drive to Qambathi Mountain Lodge, which also has game and where the food was reputedly excellent.

Story and photos by Wanda Hennig

“Dave says I’m Thelma and you’re Louise,” my food writer friend Anne tells me when she pulls up in her car to fetch me. Dave is her boyfriend. Thelma and Louise is the road trip movie. We are leaving on a road trip. We’ve done road trips before. For example, a memorable one where we visited cooking schools and foodie joints through Napa and Sonoma and wrote about them...

Who put the trash out? Who cares!

editor — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:21:18 +0000

In the U.S. they see it as an opportunity, not a problem. So what about us?

Story and pictures by Wanda Hennig

Story first published op-ed page, Sunday Tribune, Durban, South Africa, on August 29, 2010

It’s Sunday morning at North Beach in Durban. The sun is shining. Somewhere the sardines are still running. The new, improved beachfront promenade is alive with foot traffic. People cycling, strolling, jogging, walking their dogs, walking their kids. The surfers are out; the fishermen are complaining to anyone who’ll listen about their ban from the piers; the skateboarders and BMX-ers are shooting the ramps at their graffitied concrete park ...

Silencing the vuvuzela one plug at a time

editor — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:07:21 +0000

Blow them? Ban them? Love them? Loath them? On and off the field and across the world the hammering drone of the vuvuzela is raising more intense emotions — and a greater range of them — than when ones favorite team gets knocked out of the FIFA 2010 World Cup. Now Durban interior designer Liesl Heath is doing something about it. Since last week she has been taking the guts out of the vuvuzela’s discordance and turning it into a whisper with her cleverly branded ‘Shu-Shu Zela’ earplugs. The idea for the earplugs only ...

Woza eNanda heritage site hails South African heroes

editor — Thu, 20 May 2010 21:45:41 +0000

Experiencing the political change of South Africa rates as the second preference of most foreign visitors after a visit to a game park. Until recently, there was a lack of tourism facilities in KwaZulu-Natal with a strong liberation theme. By Wanda Hennig

The heart of Inanda, the sprawling township that is part of the greater Durban municipality, known as eThekweni (Zulu for “where the earth and the ocean meet”), is called Freedom Valley for good reason. It is a fountainhead of South Africa’s rich liberation history; a source of legendary — and contemporary — people, places and events that have shaped and continue to shape the “new” South Africa.

Let Football Nights plan your World Cup South Africa travel

editor — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 23:17:02 +0000

Are you going to South Africa for the 2010 world cup soccer tournament. If not, why not? The good news is, if you haven’t made your travel plans, it’s not too late. If you’re not sure where to start, help is at hand. By Wanda Hennig South Africa right now is a great big fabulous party waiting to happen. No, I’m not blind to some of the more controversial news stories of the past weeks. But for heavens sake, look at the news from the rest of the world (including the United ...

RSA-USA and Invictus beyond the Oscars

editor — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:59:21 +0000

What South Africa, Clint Eastward’s movie and Morgan Freeman’s Mandela moment can teach the USA. Ten reasons to see the Oscar-nominated film (with Freeman nominated for Best Actor and Matt Damon for Best Supporting Actor).

By Wanda Hennig

Invictus is the story of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, hosted and won by South Africa. The movie is a tribute to Nelson Mandela’s vision and leadership — and a lot more. Go see it and be inspired. Perhaps it will give you new thoughts and insights on Washington politics and the US health care debate. The Top 10 list starts with rugby