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Cape Town

Making the world a kinder place — one gesture at a time

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13 November 2018
By Francine Barchett, Natalie Elliott, and Corey D Smith
First Appeared on TimesLIVE
Knowledge Mudzamiri is planning to give food to someone on the street to mark World Kindness Day today.
Knowledge Mudzamiri is planning to give food to someone on the street to mark World Kindness Day today.  Image: Natalie Elliott

If someone smiles at you in the street today, or offers to carry your shopping bag, they may be trying to make the world a better place because it’s World Kindness Day.

It’s a day that anyone can participate in — and everyone who does is likely to feel better for it.

Started in 1998 as an effort to make the world a better place, the idea of random acts of kindness to strangers has spread around the world, and World Kindness Day is now celebrated in 28 countries.

No act of kindness is too big or too small — all acts are part of the bigger picture of connecting humankind.

Some people told TimesLIVE in Cape Town how they planned to mark the day.

Saleem Upto from Bloemfontein says he will take on some volunteer work.
Saleem Upto from Bloemfontein says he will take on some volunteer work.  Image: Natalie Elliott

“I like to give compliments to random people because I think it could make someone’s day,” said Tiffany Japtha from Blue Downs. For Nonzukiso Mpapama from Strand, the day will be better if “you just give everyone a smile”.

Mpriza Zitha from Khayelitsha says equality is important and Taurik Hendricks from Mitchells Plain says that people are too selfish.
Mpriza Zitha from Khayelitsha says equality is important and Taurik Hendricks from Mitchells Plain says that people are too selfish.  Image: Natalie Elliott

“If everyone was equal, it would make the world a better place,” said Mpriza Zitha from Khayelitsha.

“Stop being selfish. It’s as easy as that,” said Taurik Hendricks from Mitchells Plain.

“I’m going to be more accepting of people regardless of what or who they are,” said Sisonke Ndabambi from Dunoon.

Sisonke Ndabambi from Dunoon plans to be more accepting.
Sisonke Ndabambi from Dunoon plans to be more accepting.  Image: Natalie Elliott

And for Angie Kelly from Pinelands, kindness is simple: “The basis of being kind is that you’re seeing people. Acknowledging the person who’s serving you at the table. Or when you’re walking past somebody else and just acknowledging the fact that they’re walking in the opposite direction.”

For Angie Kelly from Pinelands kindness is about acknowledging people.
For Angie Kelly from Pinelands kindness is about acknowledging people.  Image: Natalie Elliott

Deadly dog virus hits crisis levels in Cape Town just before busiest season

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14 November 2018

By Francine Barchett

First appeared on TimesLIVE

As animal welfare organisations prepare for their busiest time of year, clinics and veterinary services are facing the added burden of an outbreak of the potentially deadly parvovirus among dogs in Cape Town.

The workload ahead of the Christmas season includes normal vaccinations and check-ups. In addition, over the festive season many pets are abandoned and need rescuing.

This year an unusually high incidence of the canine virus, reported across the city, will exacerbate the workload and costs.

“We’ve learned first hand that parvo is extra bad this season,” said Lesley Jones, director of Pet Farewells, an organisation that collects and disposes of 1,500-2,000 pet and animal carcasses each month. She said staff at the animal clinics she deals with expressed concern.

Parvo is a highly contagious and often deadly disease that spreads through dogs’ faeces. Symptoms include vomiting, distinctively scented diarrhoea, loss of energy and loss of appetite.

Karen de Klerk, who heads the Cape Animal Welfare Forum, representing animal rescue shelters in the Western Cape, confirmed that infection reports were up across the region.

Canines with parvovirus suffer from loss of appetite, lethargy, and diarrhoea

The Mdzananda Animal Clinic in Khayelitsha has been overwhelmed with the “worst influx of parvo patients in the 22 years of its existence”, said manager Susan Wishart.

While the clinic usually sees around 14 parvo patients a month, last month it had seen 45, the organisation confirmed. “Our vets think that the recent heat wave could have triggered the outbreak,” said Wishart.

Parvo is preventable if pet owners take their dogs for a three-part vaccination, starting when dogs are six weeks old, and return for a booster shot each year, the clinic advises.

But at R300 for the full vaccination, it is not something that all dog owners can afford. “It’s not an option for some people. We support animals but we also support people,” said Wishart.

Treatment of infected dogs is even more costly. At the Mdzananda clinic, it runs to almost R6,400 per animal.

The nonprofit organisation is appealing to the public to donate money to help deal with the crisis that will strain already-stretched resources, as it approaches the “busy season” for abandoned pets.

“We see a lot of undernourished dogs coming in during the holidays because people haven’t talked about who’s going to take care of them while they’re away,” said Wishart.

Become a part of the art at 3D interactive exhibition in Cape Town

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By Sealy McMurrey

Capetonians are capturing moments of themselves hiking the Grand Canyon‚ featuring in The Last Supper‚ and riding a camel without breaking a sweat.

An interactive 3D painting exhibition by world-renowned American pavement artist Kurt Wenner‚ currently on display at the V&A Waterfront‚ is making all of this possible.

Incredible Illusions is different to most art shows.

Instead of the typical museum instruction to “look‚ but don’t touch” people are encouraged to interact with the paintings for a photograph that will make it look like they’re actually there.

Wenner said that the art was chosen specifically “to provide an interactive experience to the public”.

“I wanted to share to [with] them the possibilities art offers to change our environment with imagination‚” he added.

Sealy McMurrey at 3D artist and inventor, Kurt Wenner’s “Incredible Illusions” exhibition at the V&A Waterfront Watershed. Photo by Ruvan Boshoff

Cape Town is the first international city to host Wenner’s travelling showcase.

Wenner said he got the idea for the showcase after setting up a museum in the Playa Del Carmen in the Mexican Riviera‚ and decided to start the showcase in Cape Town because of how impressed he was with the city when he first visited some years ago.

“I grew up in Santa Barbara‚ California‚ which is similar in many ways‚ although I must concede that Cape Town is even more elegant and spectacular. Naturally‚ I was delighted with the opportunity to display my work in such an enviable venue.”

For those who crave a more scholastic angle‚ there is also an educational zone that provides a history on pavement art and shares the crucial role that geometry plays in the creation of 3D interactive artwork. More creative museum-goers can learn about the foundation of 3D art and make their own masterpiece at the Art Jamming zone.

While Wenner was aware of the political situation in South Africa‚ he said that he generally avoided politics in his art because he felt “that my message is one of inclusion and hope rather than protest”.

“The whole world seems to be unstable at the moment and there is certainly plenty to protest about across the globe.”

The exhibition started on April 4 and runs until July 23. — TMG Digital/TimesLIVE

Read this article online here

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