Verity's Blog

When a gut feeling pays off...

A few weeks back I was called back for the final auditions for a lead role in an MNET mini series. The character needed to be played at 19 and 40 years old, so they were looking for an actress they could age both ways. It was a juicy role and I had a lot of fun preparing for it.

While I was doing the scene for the 19 year old role, the character kept reminding me of Nina Milner– one of the girls who acted in Ella Blue with me. She is 19, very quirky and very talented. I walked out the audition having really enjoyed it but couldn't shake that they should see Nina for the role as well. I phoned her immediately and told her to phone her agent and see if they could get into the callback in Cape Town that afternoon (a very tricky thing to do)! They agreed to see her and she only had two hours to prepare her audition.

I completely forgot about it all until she phoned me to say that she got the role! I was in flood of tears I was so excited – it was mindblowing to know that my intuition had been so spot on! She will be shooting up in Jozi so is taking me out to dinner to celebrate and say thank you. I am stoked that I acted on a feeling and it worked out and that she will be able to continue to be a very busy and working actress with an incredibly bright future!

Their voices...

Here are some pics from the documentary "Our Stories, Own Voices" that I worked on with film maker Lungiswa Sithole for the SABC2 series Our Nation In Colour. The song I wrote with the four teenage girls from Atlantis was featured on the program including footage of them coming to Cape Town to record the track the live their dream of being in a recording studio. Their local radio station picked up "Our Voices" for their playlist which has made the girls celebrities in Atlantis and given them a voice against drugs in their community.  I really hope to work on more projects like this, where I get to use my music to make a significant difference in people's lives - I love it!

Eden Campus... worth a visit

I often write about Eden Campus at Karatara near Knysna and the profound impact this free 'university' has had on me. It is a shining example of the magic being worked in our country to uplift and empower people. The students blow me away with their innovation and drive to succeed and I am honoured that Shine is their school song! 

Check out their website to see if you can get involved somehow, and if you are driving up the Garden Route you wont regret the detour to go and see the campus for yourself. A miracle in progress!

Eden Campus keeps on "Shining"

Check out this clip about Eden Campus in Karatara and get a little more insight into their amazing vision. I am thrilled that they have used 'Shine' as the music in this!

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Some of my INTEC Bursary reciepients

The last year of being able to award INTEC bursaries has been incredible! Just being in the position to give someone the chance to further their education is humbling and a massive priviledge. I am slowly collecting pics of the people I have awarded bursaries to, and these are what I have so far. Each of their stories is humbling and I am so excited they are getting to study further!

Another Dream Come True...

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In July last year I did a charity concert at Bishops called "Spoof" and Dance For All was also performing. I was blown away but what an incredible school they are that has gone into the townships to find and train young dancers. I was moved to offer them two INTEC Bursaries and a month ago the first dancer to take up a bursary got hold of me. Her name is Zandile and she is incredibly talented and eager to add marketting to her skills. I drove out to their studio in Athlone to hand over her bursary and as you can see she was really excited.

Moments like this make my journey so special. I am still in awe that I have been put in the position to help people live their dream of furthering their education in this way. That is what happens when you just start actioning your vision and then stand back and be amazed at the magic that appears because you dared to try...

Be inspired to help...

">Karatara - Eden Campus - Be Inspired!

Please visit www.edencampus.co.za to see how you can help this incredible free business campus that is helping disadvantaged students on the Garden Route in South Africa. I am very priviledged to be involved with this inspiring project and to have had them take on my song "Shine" as their school song. My band & I will be up there in April to perform a concert as a fundraiser for the campus and to hopefully shoot a music video for "Shine" with all the students.

This amazing video was shot by Jan Turnbull - www.inidiman.com - it is made up of stills photographs that he then edited together to create the moving picture. Inspiring stuff!

Their Own Voices...

In June last year I started working on a documentary for  SABC2 about teenage survivors of abuse. I was called in to go and work with the four girls from Atlantis just outside Cape Town to help them write a song that would reflect their experience of living where they do and issues they deal with. The most prevalent issue for them is the problem of Tik in their community and they brought me poems they had written about their feelings and fears. Over the course of a few visits out to Atlantis with my keyboard player Nelson we started shaping a song and I was blown away by their voices and commitment to practicing it over and over again.

On Wed 31^st January I finally got to get the girls to come into Cape Town to record their song....

Pls Help Sisanda Finish Studying

Eden Campus is trying to raise the sum of R11 460 to release one of their students, Sisanda Joko, from a debt to Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Sisanda enrolled at NMMU in 2004 in the belief that she would qualify for financial assistance. However the funding was not granted and Sisanda left NMMU at the end of 2004 with a debt of R8360.

She is now enrolled full time at Eden Campus and since she is not currently employed, has been unable to pay off the debt. With interest running at 15.5% per year, the total debt is currently R11 460. As Eden Campus students register for NMMU accredited courses until such time as it has its own accreditation, Sisanda will not be able to write the end-of-year Marketing exam next week, or re-register for the second year until the debt is paid.

Sisanda has done w ell this year at Eden Campus, has shown considerable personal growth and impressed people with the strength and vitality of her theatrical performance on Youth Day. The fourth of nine children, Sisanda is the first in her family to have the opportunity to continue her studies beyond matric. Sisanda is devastated by the news that she may not be able to continue with her studies.  Nevertheless, she  has been preparing for the exam in the belief that a solution will be found. For NMMU, with its 20000 students, this is just a matter for their credit bureau.  For Sisanda and her family, the debt burden and lost education opportunity would mean devastating poverty for a lifetime.

Please let them know urgently if you can help Sisanda in any way. If 20 people contribute just R575 (approx $80 or £48) each we can give this young woman a chance to continue and finish her studies and make her way into the working world without the burden of a debt.  I have paid a donation of R575 already and another good friend of mine has generously given R2000 so a few more people doing the same will make a HUGE difference for her.

Thanks for taking the time to read this - if you are inspired to 'pay forward' and help Sisanda then please Click below for bank details etc...

Eden Campus - how 2 help

I have been meaning to write for a while about this, and hope it will pull on your heart strings! 

A few months back I visited Karatara outside of Sedgefield where a free 'university' has been started with the aim to provide quality education and business skills to previously marginalised South Africans in the region.The Campus is a business school focused on developing entrepreneurs and future leaders.

Steve Carver, the founder, has a dream to uplift the whole of Karatara &  turn it into a university town. He hopes the project will grow, eventually impacting the whole of the Garden Route - providing tertiary education to those who cannot afford it, and creating a generation of entrepreneurs who will go out and create their own jobs.  He has been given the abandoned old age home in Karatara as a campus by the  Knysna Municipality ...