COME HOME NEWSLETTER

Number 51 - May / June 2008

Dear Readers

Greetings from a cool (literally and figuratively!) Pretoria!  Thank you for the many positive emails received in connection with issue 50 – we always appreciate hearing from you.

Once again, we start with the usual essential news:  This is the free newsletter of the Come Home Campaign of AfriForum for all South Africans intending to return to South Africa, in process of returning or just back home.  To subscribe or unsubscribe to the newsletter, send your comments or make a contribution, contact us at alana@afriforum.co.za.  Mark the email “COME HOME SUBSCRIBE”, “COME HOME UNSUBSCRIBE”, or with the topic of your choice.  The newsletter is a monthly email publication which is available in either Afrikaans or English.  New subscribers are always most welcome.  Also bear in mind that although we select our advertisers with care, we cannot guarantee or be held responsible for the quality of their services or products.  Advertisements are published free of charge.  Please also feel free to comment on their service delivery.

RESPONSE TO REQUESTS

Thank you so much to all who respond regularly to our requests.  Just one appeal from our side - if you respond to a request, please make sure whether the response is indeed intended for us.  We also send occasional requests on behalf of other worthy causes, like the recent email about the research of Tommy du Plessis and the distress call by the Helping Hand Fund.  In order to get a quick reply to your emails, direct the mails to the addresses mentioned in our mails and thus make sure that your message reaches the intended destination directly and does not get delayed because we have to redirect it.

DISTRESS CALL FOR HELP WITH NEW WHITE POVERTY IN SOUTH AFRICA

For the past 10 years, white South Africans have been in the grip of a poverty crisis.  Poverty among white South Africans has increased by 150% since 1994. Approximately 430 000 are currently unemployed and the same number can no longer afford to live in traditionally white residential areas.  Approximately half of white families cannot afford a house costing more than R200 000 and the Pretoria area alone is home to more than 40 white squatter camps or shelters.   Solidarity’s Helping Hand Fund has undertaken a comprehensive study into white poverty in South Africa.  The full report, together with a photo gallery, video images and an audio feature, can be found on at www.helpendehand.co.za. Please feel free to visit the site.

This problem is too large for us to tackle it on our own.  We need the help of the approximately 1 million South Africans living abroad.  You are our ambassadors who represent a worldwide network.  We want to ask every one of you to help.  We particularly want to rescue young people from the poverty cycle and prevent them from being caught in it again.  The only way in which this can be achieved is to provide them with good training in scarce skills.  We intend awarding hundreds of study bursaries every year in order to train even more young people at Solidarity’s training college.  We also want to play an active part in feeding schemes, blanket projects in winter and other actions to support the needy. You can help by contributing $10 or $20 per month, or to sponsor a bursary to the amount of R10 000.  All you have to do is to visit www.helpinghandfund.co.za.  The website contains a credit card platform through which you can contribute. There are options for monthly or one-off contributions.

The second way in which you can help, is to act as Solidarity Helping Hand liaison in your town or city.  You can assist us to recruit people to support our actions.  If you want to be a liaison person, send an e-mail to
helpendehand@solidariteit.co.za.

The third way in which you can help is to forward this message to every expatriate South African on your address list.

Thank you very much – we need your help more than ever.

Regards

Dirk Hermann
Chairman: Solidarity Helping Hand

FIRST AID

Do you know what “CPR” is and how to do it?  You may just need this knowledge to save a life.  Information is available from the Arrive Alive web site.  Also available by cell via ArriveAlive.mobi.

BRINGING ELECTRICAL APPLICANCES FROM THE USA TO SA

We often receive questions about which household appliances bought or made in the USA, can also be used in South Africa.  One of our much appreciated co-operators is Ken Cram.  He recently immigrated to South Africa from the USA himself and is an expert in the field of electricity.  He writes:

General information:  The most basic thing to recognize is that the US runs on 110 volts and SA runs on 220 volts.  Unless your US item SPECIFICALLY states that it is capable of running on 220 volts, IT WILL NOT WORK in SA.  It is extremely dangerous to plug something meant to run on 110 volts into 220 volts.  At the very least the item will self-destruct in less than one second and be a total loss.  At worst, there can be a fire, explosion and/or you can die from the resulting short circuits and overloads.  You CANNOT just use an adaptor plug to make the 110 volts US plug fit into a 220 volts SA plug.  To repeat, this is extremely dangerous unless the item specifically says it can run on 220 volts and the vast majority of things sold in the US cannot run on 220 volts.  Be very careful with this.  OK, end of the general warning.

Small appliances:  This category is deceptive because most people would put an item like a hair dryer into this category.  Most hair dryers are anywhere from 800 to 1 500 watts.  This is generally beyond the capabilities of the typical Radio Shack type converter one buys for $15 to $20 in the US.  I apologize if this gets a bit technical but you MUST know how many watts the particular small appliance will draw and whatever converter you buy, such as the Radio Shack type units mentioned above, must have sufficient watts handling capability for that device.  This is a workable, but in the long run very inconvenient way to do it.  We have a couple of small appliances left from the US (a set of hair clippers and a small coffee grinder) and it is rather a hassle to have to find the power converter every time we want to use them.  In addition, this type of adaptor generally uses the SA 2 pin type plug and don’t fit the “new” style 2 pin SA plugs very well.  All in all, this can be done but not a very convenient solution.

Electronics, TVs, PCs, Hi-Fi equipment:  Again, first thing to check is if it can run on 220 volts.  If so, then all you need is an adaptor to get it to fit the SA 220v plugs.  If not, then you will need something other than the Radio Shack type converter.  Electronics are much more sensitive to the “quality” of the electricity coming in than small appliances or motors.  You can damage or destroy the sensitive electronic components in a TV, PC or Hi-Fi even if you have a 220 volts converter.  The recent load shedding in SA has damaged and/or burnt out many TVs, PCs, and other electronic equipment due to the surges and discontinuities.  This will be exacerbated if one is trying to convert 220 volts to 110 volts through one of these cheap devices.  The only safe way to do it is to buy a 220 volts to 110 volts transformer once you arrive in SA.  You will need to find a specialty electronics place that will make one up for you.  We paid about R1 000 for a 1 000w transformer with 2 x 110 volts outputs.  We use it exclusively for our big screen TV we brought from the US and we always unplug the TV from the transformer (not just turn it off, but physically remove the plug) whenever we turn the TV off.  I cannot emphasize strongly enough that electronic equipment is very sensitive and can easily be damaged or even destroyed, even if converted to 110 volts.  Again, it can be done (we are doing it) but the risk of damaging or destroying the equipment is high.

TV signal: A US TV WILL NOT RECEIVE the signal in SA.  The US uses a TV signal called NTSC and SA uses one called PAL.  They are NOT compatible.  The only way to get a US (NTSC) TV to work in SA (PAL) is to buy an NTSC to PAL converter.  Some higher end DVD players will have a PAL/NTSC converter built in.  If so, you may be able to run the incoming signal from your antenna or DSTV box through the DVD player to get the conversion.  If not, you will need to buy a separate PAL to NTSC converter (there are numerous online shops that sell these converters).  We do not have broadcast TV, DSTV or MWeb, so this is not a problem for us.  We only use our TV to watch DVDs.  Same issue as above on both the DVD player and a converter with respect to the 220 volts versus 110 volts power supply issues.  It can get a bit confusing to remember what is powered by what if you start mixing 220 volts components with 110 volts components.  The other issue with DVDs is that there are 5 different “regions” of DVDs in the world.  The US is in Region 1 and SA is in Region 2.  Just as with the NTSC/PAL issue, a Region 1 DVD will not play on a Region 2 player and vice versa.  Now, many DVD players are made for world wide sale and have all the necessary software built in to play DVDs of all regions, but the manufacturers “lock out” all but the region in which the player is sold.  For many of these players you can find the code to “crack” the software on the internet and unlock them so they will play all regions.  Note this is not true for all DVD players so any given DVD player in the US may or may not be able to be “cracked” to work in SA.

If all this sounds confusing, it is ….  It would be nice if it were easy and the whole world worked on the same electricity and everything worked everywhere and there was only one DVD region and, and, and …, but unfortunately it doesn’t work that way and it can be a bit daunting to get something from the US to work properly in SA.  I don’t profess to be an electronics expert, but from trial and error and burning out a few expensive electronic components when we moved here, I have gained a bit of practical knowledge.  Hope this helps – Ken.

Thank you, Ken!

RELOCATION HELP

Contact the following agents for quotes to ship your goods back to South Africa:

• Doug Wiviott, Rainier Overseas Movers, Inc, doug@rainieros.com;
  
• Paul McAvoy, George Baker (Shipping) Ltd, (UK Agents for South African Removals), paul.mcavoy@georgebakershipping.com or paul@southafricanremovals.com.

MUSIC TOUR TO THE NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM

Jannie du Toit sends the information below regarding a tour which he, Christa Steyn and three young South African musicians are planning to The Netherlands and Belgium.  If no shows are scheduled in your vicinity yet, you can also contact Jannie and help him to organise one.  There is still room for more shows on their programme.  Jannie’s address is agterplaas@icon.co.za.

RESEARCH BY DR ATTIE SNYMAN

Dr Attie Snyman is currently doing research about emigration with the publication of a book or the making of a documentary film in mind.  He asks:

I would like to hear in as much detail as possible about the ways in which South Africans experience life abroad (the good and the bad).  It is important for me to learn about the problems they have adapting to life in another country, the housing, churches, schools, professional circumstances, acceptance by other cultures, et cetera.  I would like to learn about the practical ways in which they adapted, as well as the psychological and emotional impact of emigration.  Why do some people adapt easily and others not at all?  It cannot only be that people miss SA, braaivleis, or their friends and family too much – or can it?  What advice would they give prospective emigrants?  How about people who have returned to South Africa?  Are they happy here?  Was it hard to adapt to life in South Africa again?  I believe that the vicinity in which you settle, plays a huge role in your adaptation process abroad.  For example, Americans in different parts of the USA differ vastly from each other.  Finally I would also like to know why people are leaving South Africa.  Is it simply because of issues such as crime, affirmative action and unemployment, or are more personal issues at stake?  I am looking forward to hearing from you!

Please direct all correspondence to Dr Attie Snyman at
assnyman@absamail.co.za or 00 27-82-4509347.

CHURCHES ABROAD

Are you looking for a church abroad, or are you part of a South African congregation outside the borders of South Africa and would you like to share your information with us?  Please send all details to us at alana@afriforum.co.za.

Thank you to Gina Hendricks who sent us the following information about the Afrikaans Church in New Zealand.  The Church’s web address is www.afrchristenkerk.co.nz and its 7 congregations can be contacted at:

Auckland
North Shore
Howick
Hamilton
Rotorua Contact Rev Jaco Reyneke 07-574 3371 / Nico Claassen 07-348 7173.
Wellington
Christchurch

Thank you, Gina!

TAXATION INFORMATION

For expert advice, contact:

POSITIONS AVAILABLE

• The following position is available via Everson Engineering House (IP Computer Training Centrum Nijmegen): IT specialist in a production environment.  Several years’ experience with relational and historical databases, web-applications, SCADA applications and MES systems required.  Must be able to make the transition from the production world to the IT world easily.  Will work in South-Africa for a Dutch client.  Travel to The Netherlands might be required occasionally.  For more information, contact Ludwig Everson at 0031-24-358-6434 or everson@lycos.nl.
• Fanie Coetzee who represents one of the major construction companies in South Africa, is still looking for senior people in the fields of construction and engineering.  He is also willing to help people in other related fields to find employment as well.  Contact him at fanie@oneworldhc.com.
• Old Mutual Personal Financial Advice is looking for people to be trained as financial advisors.  For more information, contact Jannie Heymans or send your CV to him at jheymans@oldmutual.com.

NOSTALGIC MOMENTS

Who can guess in which part of South Africa this photograph was taken?  The person who guesses correctly, or comes closest to the correct answer, will receive a parcel of South African stationery with our compliments!

FAR HORIZONS

Please send us a striking picture from your corner of the world?

This month we publish a photograph from Mongolia from Andy.

MEDITATION

This month’s meditation comes from Reverend Naas Ferreira once again.  To subscribe to his messages, visit www.ouderling.blogspot.com.  Thank you, Reverend Naas!

Where is your God now?

In the light of all the dramas and crises of our age, many people ask: Where is God in all of this?  How can there be a God if all of these things (just page through today’s newspapers) are happening in the world?  How can a God of love allow such things to happen?

Do you have an answer to such questions?  Of course this must be an answer in which you believe with all of your heart – also when you are standing next to the bed of a child dying of cancer, or when someone confronts you with the newspaper report on the brutal killing of a loved-one.  Tell me:  where is the God you believe in?

The broken nature of the world is not God’s fault.  All that is broken and gruesome and tragic, are the direct results of the sins of humans.  The same sins of Paradise still present us today with human choices and a heartbreaking reality in this world.  Do not complain, because you and I are both responsible for the broken nature of this world ourselves.

And what about God then?  Where is He?  Can’t He change anything about this?  Is there even a God?  Yes, of course there is ... and He has done something already!  Do you know where the love of God can be seen most clearly?  At the cross at Golgotha where He broke His own “heart” on the cross (read John 3 verse 16).  There at the cross, His Son, Jesus Christ, paid for our sins.  The cross tells us about our God, who does not look away from the sufferings of sinners, but instead identifies Himself completely with sinners and their crises.  As in Paradise, God is still calling out to us today – Where are you?

Which change did the death of Christ bring about?  The world still seems to be the same.  Yes, everything looks the same, but a very important change has come about.  God does not allow sinners to return to Paradise.  In fact, He expelled the first people from Paradise and had the entrances to Paradise guarded to prevent them from returning (Genesis 3 verse 24).  He is however busy creating “new people”.  Where does this take place?  In this broken world He is making new people for whom Jesus is preparing a place.  From our perspective, a person’s moment of death may be tragic and gruesome, but from the perspective of the afterlife, his or her homecoming to God is glorious and precious.  Death brings His new people to Him.

This perspective requires FAITH.  Do you believe that God is still busy here ... even amidst a gruesome and tragic reality?

Kind regards till next time!

Alana & colleagues
AfriForum
[www.komhuistoe.co.za / alana@afriforum.co.za]