‘Stopping’ gender-based violence

As womxn, we exist as potential victims. We share space and breath. We cannot be expected to do it without limits and fear. So, ladies, take the self-defense classes. Don’t stay out alone too late. Drive don’t walk. If you’re being driven by someone else, make sure someone is tracking the vehicle. Dress conservatively. Smile when it’s suggested by a stranger on the street. Text your friend when you arrive safely. Be Careful. STOP GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE.… Read More ‘Stopping’ gender-based violence

August 23, 2020August 23, 2020 Rumbi Goredema Görgens1 Comment

All I Want for World Breastfeeding Week…

Behind every breastfeeding mother must be a village of support. Can we count on you?… Read More All I Want for World Breastfeeding Week…

August 5, 2020 Rumbi Goredema GörgensLeave a comment

On Kanye

I’ve been struggling with the Kanye of it all. I love his work. I’ve loved his work since before he was on the mic. A lot of my favorite hip hop songs were produced and masterminded by Kanye. His music has got me through some hard times. He’s incredibly talented and that shines through, even… Read More On Kanye

July 27, 2020July 27, 2020 Rumbi Goredema GörgensLeave a comment

Angry Black Woman

I don’t want to be an angry black woman. Trust me. No-one wants to carry around this bile, bubbling just under the surface of every interaction one has. I also don’t care to fulfill whatever stereotypical view people hold about black women. There are so many of those, aren’t there? About our sexuality, our bodies,… Read More Angry Black Woman

July 6, 2020July 6, 2020 Rumbi Goredema GörgensLeave a comment

The Unbearable Whiteness of the Environment

In the midst of an exhausting week, news broke of a paper published by University of Cape Town Professor Nicoli Nattrass in which she posits a few reasons for the low numbers of black South African students who choose to study environmental and natural sciences. She writes: [Such subjects] struggled to attract black South African… Read More The Unbearable Whiteness of the Environment

June 8, 2020June 8, 2020 Rumbi Goredema Görgens1 Comment

There is no answer, but my children are the answer

You are not an accident where no one thought it through The world has stood against us, made us mean to fight for you And when we chose your name we knew you’d fight the power too Brandi Carlile, ‘The Mother’ In late 2014, I was six months pregnant and watching in horror as a… Read More There is no answer, but my children are the answer

June 1, 2020June 1, 2020 Rumbi Goredema GörgensLeave a comment

Work/Life

A few weeks into the ‘new normal’, disaster struck: my husband and I had conference calls scheduled at the same time, and no child care. I found myself in our garden, playing as quietly as possible with my kids, and listening in to my meeting on my earphones. I wasn’t alone. Many of my colleagues… Read More Work/Life

May 28, 2020May 28, 2020 Rumbi Goredema GörgensLeave a comment

Bigger than my body

They are so big. They forgive me all of it, cuddling up to me and squishing their little faces right up against mine.… Read More Bigger than my body

May 14, 2020 Rumbi Goredema GörgensLeave a comment

Weathering

My husband almost died last year. It is exactly as dramatic as it sounds. For all of my attempts to reduce it, reshape it, banish it from our minds and hearts, it is what happened. At some point during the terrifying 48 hours in which his condition was worsening, there were two battles raging. The… Read More Weathering

February 18, 2020February 18, 2020 Rumbi Goredema Görgens1 Comment

Wheelchair Humour, love and other impossible pursuits

My husband and I are parents to two small, rambunctious children, aged four and ten months. They fill our days with joy and laughter, and we are consumed by their care. This means our opportunities to exchange the banter and chatter and in-jokes that interlock with the backbone of our marriage are often trumped… Read More Wheelchair Humour, love and other impossible pursuits

February 5, 2020February 5, 2020 Rumbi Goredema GörgensLeave a comment

Rumbi Writes

Missives and Musings from the Middle of the Margins