Before the sun sets of this day - the day Joshua Mabaso was buried - I write of my friend. We met in the years before 1994. I was still lecturing at the sebokeng college of education - and was designing and running mass empowerment programs which involved all 700+ students in a weekly program which addressed skills and topics which according to a needs analysis and values audit completed were not covered during lectures. Thus we addresses issues such as Self Esteem, Democracy & Voter Education, Liberation (the most wonderful and inspiring speeches by Abner Mariri) himself a mountain of faith and inspiration, Financial Empowerment, Total Quality Management for Community Development with guests like Fred Thompson from the Memphis Total Quality Institute, Non Violent Conflict Resolution - which had a key address from our good friend Arun Gandhi who visited with us and ran workshops for youth brigades from the ANC, the PAC, Inkatha etc across the Vaal and the East Rand Townships. In these year before election and democracy I chanced to meet Chris Tc Rashoalane and Joshua Mabaso who ran industrial theatre programs on HIV / AIDS and other relevant issues. We immediately bonded and their team of actors designed many short plays to highlight key issues on Democracy, Voter Education, Liberation etc. These plays were an integral part of the programs for the Mass Student and Community Empowerment Programs conducted weekly attended by ALL the students and bringing on board more and more community structures and roleplayers. Others of that time who also put out their talent to coordinate such programs and present items were Tommy Ruele (fantastic musician and man of God) Thabo Makhopochane who played keyboard and delivered wonderful music. Sophie Mokoena - who dynamically drove these events and coordinated Feet for Peace, Hands for Peace, Walls for Peace. Such power in everyone, such energy to build and see us through all the pain of pre-democracy and unite us as South Africans under one RAINBOW Nation. Rev Dinky Bogile of the Sharpeville Anglican Church and many many more. The rector and especially the vice rector of the college Mrs Susan Gouws fully supported the development and implementation of this very dynamic process. Throughout this program and the years leading up to 1994, Chris Rash and Joshua Mabaso were my direct and immediate and very close support. Where I went in the townships, where we conducted programs, they were there. We often joked as I called them my great body guards. When Arun Gandhi came to visit - it was they who were with me in the college combi, collecting community, posting news of his visit and programs, picking him up from airport, delivering him to guesthouse, picking him up for radio interviews in Johannesburg on stations which wanted to interview him at 23h00 at night, Driving back through the township with me, delivering him to his guest house and then ensuring that I was safely home after I had dropped them at the entrance to Sebokeng (as it was not safe Nina to drive in alone at night). This was but one of hundreds of events where Joshua and Chris were THERE for me. We ran in the college with the students - we ran in the community with programs far and wide. We cried and laughed and drove and dreamed. Joshua was always full of fun, dancing and even doing handstands with his round body floating above his head as he walked on his hands. He loved loved music and dancing - and we had and did a lot of that wherever we were and he would roll his stomach and chop at it with his hands and jiggle across the floor with laughter pouring out of his mouth. He was insightful, sensitive, protective of me and my daughters who were all still small . He and Chris and the actors in their team would spend days at my home on Hertz boulevard rehearsing their plays. He would drive up to my driveway sometimes over a weekend in his BOX little BMW - which he loved - spin up and shout Nina -are you home? Are the girls OKAY? He would greet and laugh and then spin away en route with his other plans and work at NAMPAK. Chris and I laughed when cellphones were just being introduced to the market - and Joshua had one - and at one meeting we were at MetroRail for industrial theatre values launch and Joshua walked around talking very importantly to IMPORTANT people on the phone (all to impress) and the phone rang in his ear. We laughed and laughed. We had the TIME of our lives! I will NEVER EVER forget Joshua - Fatty - Mabaso. May God welcome him into his kingdom. He was a peace maker, a nation builder, an artist, a creator, a businessman, an employee - but above ALL today I remember him - he was MY FRIEND. Thank you Joshua - thank you. Thank you too to my friend Chris Rashoalane and Phelisa Magam for sharing this day in mourning and celebrating the lives we had and the friend we had in Joshua.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 16:59:44 +0000
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