The uBuntu journey

■ Sonja Kruse, also known as “The uBuntu Girl” will be U3A Helderberg’s guest speaker on Wednesday June 7, at the Strand Town Hall, at 10am. In 2009 Sonja set out from the Eastern Cape on solo trip around South Africa. She walked and hitchhiked for the next 351 days through the rainbow nation of South Africa without a tent or even a sleeping bag, but with a belief in the spirit of Ubuntu and an excitement to engage with people. She set out with a backpack, a camera and a R100, and with an open heart and an open mind, travelled 13 685km on her own around South Africa, experiencing the generosity of 150 families, from 16 cultures, in 114 towns. She did this without a back-up team, tent or bank cards and without pre-planning the route.  In Sonja’s presentation titled “uBuntu journey – beyond the newpaper headlines”, she will take her audience from townhouses to townships; from shacks to millionaires; from pensioners to students, from the ANC Youth League to the AWB, from hunters to vegetarians, from long drops to bidets, from Christians to Muslims to Rastafarians, and from curries to chicken feet – Sonja experienced the joy of them all. The doors open at 9.30am. Call Brodwyn at 083 604 0784.