Wasafiri Africa Podcast

30 kms north-east of Cape Town, is Durbanville, where rolling hills and wide plains, offer a sense of expanse in this golden valley of wheat and wine. Dubbed “Sauvignon Blanc Country”, Durbanville is also a popular high income residential area, though demographics still overwhelmingly reflect, the impact of South Africa’s segregated history. With a view towards the future, Durbanville is only 13km from the planned Cape Winelands Airport, Cape Town’s second International Airport, scheduled to open in 2028.*A quiet day in Cape Town sets the scene for a chat between Ruth and Faye Kabali-Kagwa and the sparkling trajectory of her growth as a Theatre Arts Curator.Laced with easy laughter, Faye’s passion for capturing African story is personal, sparked by searching for identity as a child of Ugandan parents growing up in South Africa. This self-reflection has sharpened her instincts, and propelled her into her current role.The conversation underlines the central role that theatre has in re-storying the narrative of the continent; that theatre draws one into a world of expression that has room for very young to season thespians. Twendeni, Africa is Ready!

In 1994, Kigali smoldered from a gut-wrenching ethnic cleansing that horrified the world, but the resilience of the Rwandese people clawed back not only their humanity, but also their nationhood. Like a phoenix, the city has morphed into one of the most economically vibrant metropoles on the Continent. Kigali is not only known for its swift and efficient civil service, but also as a center of arts and culture, and increasingly, sports. Almost smack in the middle of the African continent, Kigali pulsates with life and expectancy. *Maye Srouji graduated from the London College of Fashion with a BA in Fashion Promotion, which included a major in Broadcasting. This propelled her into the working world in Johannesburg, where she touched on a PR and Journalism Consultancy with the Development Bank of South Africa in the Innovations and Entrepreneurship department, whilst adding sprinkling of fun as a professional model, with ICE Models.The call of the Land of a Thousand Hills, soon had Maye in Rwanda. Here she picked up another consultancy with Girl Hub, by Nike Foundation and later a role as Creative Director at Village Group in Rwanda.Fast forward to 2018, and Maye found herself in Cape Town, where she signed up as Brand Manager at  Mille Collines, a contemporary African fashion and lifestyle brand. As life would have it, Mille Collines was born in Rwanda, the country of Maye’s maternal lineage.Soon Maye’s flair for fashion, brand positioning savvy, and business acumen, had her assuming the role of CEO in 2022, a role she’s still holding down the reins for, with effortless grace; which is what Maye Srouji is all about.So let’s flow into conversation, with Maye Srouji. Twendeni, Africa is Ready!

Sometimes known as Rylands Estate, Rylands is a well-established sub-area in Athlone, a suburb in Cape Town, located in the Cape Flats. Historically a hot bed of Anti-Apartheid protests, memorials include that of two ANC activists, Robert Waterwitch & Colleen Williams, who died in an explosion outside the Athlone court on 23 July 1989.Although the Cape Flats has generally been depicted as existing on the 'fringe' of the city, the residents of Rylands have transformed their physical surroundings to build a thriving community.* Ajay Lalu was born into a tight knit community which besides his nuclear family, included aunts, uncles and cousins, all who lived in the same house. His earliest memories include bonding over shared dishes at meal times, fragrant with robust conversation, as well as being acutely aware of the injustices of Apartheid. But for Ajay, a singular memory rises above the rest. The day he discovered that his film with precious footage of a school trip to the Kruger National Park, had been over-exposed and all images lost.Yet, the lessons learned from this experience, have gone on to craft the diligent, exacting personality, that has put Ajay at the forefront of A.I. engineering in Africa, helped shape his sharp business mind and honed his first love, photography, to perfection.In all this, Ajay Lalu enjoys being a Social Entrepreneur. His involvement in The Makwande Trust, Shoot 4 Purpose and the launch of A Mountain Divides, his coffee table book containing lavish colourful images of the Kaapse Kloopse, will drive our conversation today.So come along for this good news story of lives changing for the better, with Ajay Lalu.Twendeni, Africa is Ready!

Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Of that, there’s no doubt. But even here, stark inequalities are evident, and children, are not exempt.Today, we put a pin location on Breadline Africa. An organization whose very reason for being, is to uplift the lives of children and the communities they live in. At Wasafiri Africa, we’ll be promoting a Charity every so often. As a Trustee at Breadline Africa, it's naturally, my first choice. The words of Nelson Mandela point the way: “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul, than the way in which, it treats its children.”*Ruth and Marion meet over a shared interest, namely to celebrate the raison d’être for Breadline Africa, the Non-Profit organisation where Ruth serves as a Trustee and Marion leads as CEO.Twendeni, Africa is Ready!    @Podcasthon                

In the highlands of Kenya, is Dondori township, located in Bahati Constituency in Nyandarua County, a mere 3 hours from Nairobi.At approximately 6,500’ or 2000m, Dondori Forest flourishes in the cool highland climate and boasts a 60’ waterfall with its own miniature rainbow.*Ruth and Muthoni sat down for a conversation, on one of Nairobi’s trademark “just perfect weather days”. Ensconced in the studio at Story Moja, both Muthoni and Ruth were keen to get started on what was clear was a shared favourite topic: telling stories.Muthoni Garland’s origin story could hardly be more befitting for someone who is so passionate about books. That Story Moja is a quietly humming efficient book churning operation, becomes clear that it’s the product of blood, sweat, tears, copious amounts of coffee and sleepless nights. Muthoni’s story has arced beautifully to this stellar point where together with the team at the coal face and behind the scenes at Story Moja, her love for reading has manifested in getting children to read. A drive so powerful, that on July 10th, 2026, an audacious goal has been pinned on the collective Story Moja consciousness: to harness the magic of one million Kenyan children reading at the same time! Complimenting the foray into Academic books, restoring Africa has taken centre stage. To quote the African literary giant Chinua Achebe: “until the lion learns to speak, the story is told by the hunter.” And so to speak, we must, according to Muthoni, by capturing the many stories of outstanding Africans pre and post the colonial era, who determined not to be erased,  championed the cause for their people. The result is the SHIZU History Books. Fantasy and real stories, creatively woven through the threads of time travel, championed by twin teenagers. Stories zig zag the continent and include Zulu Queen Mkabayi to Luo Chief Odera and shooting away again, to Ndongo Princess Njinga, and others. Born in “the original safari country” it’s not surprising that Muthoni has included a series dedicated to educating children about Kenya’s spectacular wildlife. Once again, imagination takes over the shuttle, and it’s smart young wild life detectives that go traipsing in the wild, learning fast and taking the reader along. No doubt the magic at Story Moja has only just begun. Enthused by Muthoni Garland’s fresh laughter and vibrant energy, this is one tale we won’t want to end anytime soon. Twendeni, Africa is Ready!

At the foot of Table Mountain, sits Iconic Groote Schuur hospital. Although the name loosely translates to Big Barn in Dutch, Groote Schuur has distinguished itself as anything but, with six global firsts in medicine. These include the first human to human heart transplant, fallopian tube transplant and non-invasive brain tumor detection. As a premier tertiary academic hospital in South Africa, Groote Schuur is a beloved landmark in Cape Town. *The opportunity to have a conversation with Dr Shaheem de Vries, happened organically. Ruth’s long interest in the iconic Groote Schuur Hospital, had led her to an evening of conversation on Why It Matters that we should care about this institution.Several months later, Dr Shaheem de Vries and Ruth have this conversation that reveals the layered manner in which he approaches leadership at the hospital, and why the soul of the hospital is a core focus in his management approach.Shaheem’s childhood passion to be a First Responder evidently gives him a visceral response to medical care. At Groote Schuur the Universe has conspired to align him not only with the history and trajectory of the hospital, but very importantly with people who care deeply about giving first class medical care. In some outstanding cases, the best in the world.Ruth revels at the quiet determination in Shaheem’s voice to participate in creating sustainable, democratic approaches to medical care in the Western Cape, for South Africa as well to play a contributory role in celebrating the continent's achievements in creating novel ways of delivering medical care.Aware of the value of opportunity and good leadership, Dr Shaheem de Vries is unafraid to call out the narratives that hold us back as African people, and so mask the achievements made on the continent. Africans are not just great at sports. Africans are great at anything they set their minds to do well. And that includes offering World Class Medicine, right here, in Africa.Twendeni, Africa is Ready!    

Under the terms of Separate Racial Development, in 1976, The Transkei in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, was the first Bantu Homeland to achieve a controversial independence from the Apartheid government.At approximately 18000 square miles, this area which borders Lesotho, and home to the isiXhosa people. Under an independent and democratic Republic of South Africa, in 1994, the name changed to the Eastern Cape Province, and Umtata remained as its capital.*The conversation with J. J. Taboola has been a long time coming for Ruth as each time they planned to meet, J. J. was clearly handling urgent and important matters, and Ruth would opt to reschedule. Credit to J. J. for showing up each time.Far from being grey haired or balding, J.J. Taboola reflects on how he surprised his family by leaving a thriving corporate career in finance to set up his own show. The launch of Prime Circle in 2021 was a manifestation of a 15 year old’s dream to running his own firm.Not unlike any dreamer, the movies fuelled his passion but J. J., yet far from being a wolf on Wall Street, J. J. wanted to build innovative banking for Africa, something in his own words “was not there yet”.Ruth is suitably impressed to learn that his idea such an instant hit with family and friends that funding was oversubscribed from this tight circle, to the point where he had to cap what an individual could invest. Talk about leaving the gates charging!And yet the conversation unveils that more than just dreaming, J. J. Taboola has had an a somewhat unique advantage. It becomes clear that what sometimes can appear to be happenstance becomes the core of what spins a dream into reality.  In this case, J.J. credits what her refers to as his Third Culture to have prepared him for the future he now calls his present. And so from the dream fields of the Transkei to the bustle of Cape Town, J.J. is has created a thriving competitive asset management firm. His eyes on “exotic currencies” and the vast opportunities that lie on the continent, J.J. Taboola is doing what he loves – moving funds at lighting speed at home and abroad, as part of a welcome breath of fresh air in banking in Africa.Twendeni, Africa is Ready!     

Lupane District is the Capital City of Matebeleland North Province, in Zimbabwe, home to the Ndebele. The name “Lupane” is thought to relate to the Tonga word “Lupale” meaning “Dry Land”.Just 172 km from Bulawayo, Lupane boasts a State University and St Lukes Hospital, known for being a raining hospital for doctors from Europe, South America and elsewhere, seeking experience in rural African communities.* Sometime, things dove tail so nicely, one can almost sense the Invisible Hand that conspires for our good. Such was the opportunity to sit with Frank Malaba, on one of his whistle stop visits to Cape Town.Ruth recounts the pleasure of attending Frank Malaba’s firs photographic exhibition ever, on display at Young Blood Gallery in Cape Town’s Bree Street.  Beyond the enjoyment of celebrating the milestone achievement for Frank, his talent was obvious. The beautiful imagery captured numerous singularly stunning moments in everyday unscripted living, along Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard.The visual storytelling, mirrored the poignancy of Frank’s oral story, which besides being a recognised television and film actor, he is best known for.Frank Malaba is a consummate storyteller of African folklore and of stories that draw from life on the Continent and his personal experiences. His love for the nuances of language creates layered depth to his oratory and breadth, that serve to enrich his material.Using song, dance, and at times his guitar, Frank melds himself with the world of story and carries his enthralled audience along, and they come willingly.Get comfortable and enjoy this window into Frank Malaba’s world of story, language and photography.Twendeni, Africa is Ready!