Become an agent of change by sharing your single story with us

I have always maintained that not knowing the other side of anything creates misunderstanding, and thus many challenges. So be mindful of the pitfalls presented by the single story.

This then is an invite to you, to; once you have watched the TED Talk video The danger of a single story | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; share your single story with us.

Our stories and life experiences often shape who we are and how we do or not do things. Your story may well provide many readers with a different perspective (the other side) on something – an experience – which will provide new insight and understanding.

Allow me to share a snippet. I served in the police for 22 years. This period holds a lifetime of many good, bad and some brutal experiences. As a young policeman in the uniform branch, I was told that Nelson Mandela and co were terrorists of the worst kind.

Then after his release and just before the 1994 elections (I was the chief photographer for the police magazine Servamus at the time) we interviewed many political leaders. Madiba was one.

After his interview, I spent a number of days mulling over what was shared. And then I had one of those serious aha moments when I realised just how we were/are being brainwashed. I heard just a small part of his Single Story (his side) and suddenly I understood many things.

Inherently Madiba was a gentle man, but he was fearless in defending what is right and just. We met a number of times again and he always made time to greet and chat.

And, something brutal on the soul, and probably not for sensitive readers. In 1984 I joined the local fingerprint office in Vereeniging. I often had to take detail pictures at the post-mortems of those who had died of unnatural causes.

This taught me many things. For one – on that stainless steel table, we are all equal. So, that holier-than-thou act – there is no need for that.

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The worst of the worst were the post-mortems of children. These absolutely tore me apart. It still does just thinking about it. Each experience required many days of going deep inside to work through them.

I resigned from SAPS in 1998 holding the rank of captain. So although the 21 years since then may seem like a lifetime, hearing about and seeing pictures of child abuse is really not good!

In 2018 I joined the Partners for Possibility programme, its focus being the improvement of primary and secondary education in underfunded schools.

Why did I join? Well, there are a number of reasons. Among these the fact that when you offer children access and opportunities to good quality basic, primary and secondary education, you develop well-rounded, emotionally intelligent young adults who are better equipped for tertiary education, life and better parenting.

Challenges like domestic violence, child abuse (and the need for post-mortems on children), to name but a few, will become less and hopefully disappear.

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You see, I have worked and experienced both sides of the fence. I am aware of many wonderful single story narratives from within seriously challenging (bad) living spaces and conditions as well as the bad among the well-to-do.

President Lyndon Johnson said, “There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few we can solve by ourselves.”

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To do this though we need to tell, listen and understand the single story. It represents the other side. Thus – if you want to be an agent of change, watch the aforementioned video, think and then share your single story with us.

We will not publish stories intended to score political points, stories about bad service delivery experiences, stories that are argumentative or inherently polarising and do not offer insight or add value. Read – contemplate – learn.

Keep your stories short, compact and positive even when the narrative is negative and challenging.

Every voice is important. The time is now. Let’s hear yours!

Email your story to dewet@lowvelder.co.za or matthys@lowvelder.co.za.