What a wonderful response to Shanthee’s first blog! Thanks to everyone who left a comment! It has meant the world to her. Here is another excerpt to keep you intrigued!

” Now folds the lily all her sweetness up
And slips into the bossom of the lake.
So fold thyself my dearest, thou, and slip
Into my bosom and be lost in me.”

(Tennyson: The Princess)

“I had fallen hopelessly in love, with the quiet handsome Muslim, Muhammed Essop Manjoo, whom I promptly named Shyam, an exquisite and celestial name for a beloved. I saw him for the first time in Mr Mayne’s senior shorthand class at the Nizamia, and I simply lived for those Tuesday and Thursday evenings when I could be with him. He became a member of the Child Welfare Society, which gave us the added opportunity of seeing one another.

Filled with longing one afternoon, I walked to the farthermost upper end of Church Street to Amod Cassimjee’s where Shyam was an accountant. I went disguised as a man, complete with dark glasses and hat provided by my friend Cynthia Green who accompanied me for moral support. All for the sweet, forbidden pleasure, thrill and sheer joy of seeing and surprising Shyam!

Although Rookmani, Ma and Mamee knew of this friendship, they wisely witheld it from my father who, being a devout Hindu, would never approve. And that was putting it mildly.”

“Hello! Hurrah and heigh-ho the morning dew! I am Shanthee Manjoo from Kwazulu Natal’s city of Pietermaritzburg and STE Publishers are about to launch my memoir!

Some of you remember me from from Avo’s Diversity experience where I enjoyed reading and sharing some extracts from my memoir, ‘Classrooms in the Shade’! I thought that the senior managers in the Bank would be ‘Men in Black’. Immaculate in their 3-piece suits. Unapproachable?? Perish the thought! I found you all to be completely human and lovable!

As my memoir is about to be launched, I thought it would be great to make contact with all of you again and start to tantalise your fancy with some of its’ flavour! Watch this space and I will keep in touch with you all through the blog!”

The Guys from WBHO just continue to amaze the Avo Team! Every time we have the privilege to work with you, we discover that your rock solid authenticity, your passion for WBHO and your pride in what you create is what makes you stand out both as individuals and as an organisation.

Let’s take the Amazing-zing Race as an example. When I met you in the foyer, I thought…these guys are exhausted. But as soon as the first challenge was given, you were on track! A serious hunt for clues began on the way into the CBD. The race down Main Street was just that: with some of you tearing back to find that first clue you missed at the start. Then Elaine miraculously found us all steaming hot coffee. That fuelled the mad race to the top of the Carlton: this time the security guards assisted rather than hindered some of you! One of the finest moments was trying to find the clue…which was being hidden by an innocent bystander…as I said, “the answer was there all the time…”

From there to Hillbrow. Wow. Will I ever forget the faces of that choir as you so generously gave them a whopping donation. The song, “thank you!” bursting out, their beautiful voices filling the room! I need to tell you that George e-mailed me and asked that I convey the following message to you:

“Cordial greetings !

What an emotional time that was for everyone. Thanks so much!

Your comments (were wonderful, thank you!): On the Amazing Race

In closing, Jimmy said of us: “stay as you guys are!”. Jimmy, you put our feelings towards you in a nutshell too!

In closing, Jimmy said of us: ‘Stay as you guys are!”.
Jimmy, from myself, Grant, Hilary and Jules: we send the same message. You put it perfectly!

You don’t often get a day with your team to have some serious fun, bonding and learning. The QA team works under a great deal of pressure and they appreciated being given some time to do just this.

Here is what they said about the day:

The course was absolutely inspirational and an absolute pleasure!

We got to know who we are!

Very fruitful and challenging.

I thoroughly enjoyed the course. The highlight for me was the speed dating where I got the chance to interact with all my colleagues.

Highly innovative and motivating workshop!

In life-it’s all about the little things that we constantly ignore or acknowledge.

Do not stop what what you do because you are the best!

I was inspired by the course, to work as a team and also to continue to develop myself!

I had the opportunity to run a workshop on Discovering your Strengths with a dynamic team from FNB.

It is so exciting to spend time with a team that is able to see the potential of embracing this revolutionary way of thinking. When we are able to appreciate the power of our unique gifts and talents, we are so much more effective in creating strengths streams for our lives. When we treasure our strengths, we are also able to stop comparing ourselves to others and to celebrate the talent that others bring to our teams. Here are some of the comments made by the team after the workshop:

“The most positive and rewarding course I have attended. This makes me realise that I need to be true to who I am and not want to be the way others expect me to be because of the stereotypical boxes we place people in. I discovered things about myself that I generally would suppress beacuse it might not be appreciated by others. I will now embrace my strengths because I am who I am.” Abigail Ballim

“I found this to be very personal and unbelievably accurate.” Michelle Rudolph

“Very powerful insights gained from this workshop.” Meryl Delport

” Made me realise what I need to focus on in life.” Ryno Mey

” In the Corporate World we tend to focus on negatives/weaknesses and this will help me to focus on my strengths and build on that!!” Magda Gijben

“Short but Sweet” Stephen Whitcombe

” Great, Great, Great.” Shaun Wessels

On the Spot proved to be ’spot on’ as a course to share with the vibrant volunteer leadership in Yeoville.

Avo is privileged to be working alongside George Lebone, an exceptional Community Leader, in imparting the gifts we have with those who give so much time and energy to the upliftment of Yeoville. We have already done some “Sussing Personality’s” with them and it was great to go back and be involved in a much more interactive way. What a buzz there was in the room! Everyone had to do a 60 second spontaneous presentation and we had the chance to compliment each person on their ‘natural presentation strength’. I have been so enriched to have been part of this wonderful mix of people: hailing from Malawi, the DRC, Kenya and all over South Africa: to name but a few.

I also need to thank this team for making the Amazing-zing Race such a success. It was fantastic to be able to send the two teams amongst them on Sunday to look for clues. They acted as wonderful hosts!

I would like to say thanks to St Aidans for always making your church our home. Thanks to Patricia, an Avo, who also assisted in the programme.

To George, you are truly remarkable! Thank you for making these interventions possible! You are an inspiration to so many!

Ever woken up on a Sunday morning in Jozi and thought there is just nothing to do? Chat to the team at WBHO and they will alter that perception!

Without mentioning every single challenge, let’s just say the two teams moved at high speed around the city. They managed to unnerve two sets of security guards and did some serious graffiti (it wasn’t illegal, we promise!).

They also went into deepest Hillbrow and had a singing competition with a Church choir, and boy, can these engineers sing! They then tore around the Rockey Street Market and found everything from black smoked catfish and yams to colourful shirts worn by those who hail from the DRC. They learned that the top of Africa is in the middle of Jozi and that you don’t point your finger up to catch a taxi to Joburg from Fourways.

While there was stacks of fun to be had, there was also time to look at some of the incredible buildings in Joburg and unpack a bit of their history.

Most importantly, we got to meet Africans. The challenge to collect as many greetings as possible in an African language, helped the team to see that we truly are the ‘New York’ of Africa and that a smile can undo a thousand Afrophobic misconceptions!

The day ended with an arcade dancing challenge at Monte Casino. Everyone, guys and gals, hopped on and danced and laughed and danced some more. Once again, thanks a million to these awesome engineers…they put their heart and soul into all they do! A special thanks to Marralleen who is so completely invested in developing her teams and who has made this all happen! All the very best, you feel like part of us!

Your Comments:

“Today’s experience was awesome and seeing so many diverse, but united people in Yeoville gave me a new insight to life. It’s like what people always say: What counts in life is not the breaths you take, but rather what takes your breath away”. And finally I felt like that.” Andisiwe Soqinase

“Eye opener in terms of ‘our’ (as South Africans) ignorance as to the appreciation of the diversity of cultures we have, especially xenophobia (especially amongst Africans). Also the History of Johannesburg vs the current re-interpretation of the past.” (Mapungubwe) Trevor Zumani

“It was a bloody marvellous experience that I want to do AGAIN! You go the Avo Team. You Rock!” Dawid Britz
“It is really an Amazing Race. Thanks to the Avo Team.” Pieter van Rooyen
“It’s a good thing that after a long week of hard work, the team can relax together. We work long hours, away from our families and this idea: I wish every team in every project was able to steal weekends away for fun. My favourite was the singing!” Segametsi Smous

“Today - it was a great day for me and I wish I can take my children to such places and have such fun.” Amos Saleni

“It was more than good! It was wonderful!” Antonio Claudio Dias.

“Marvellous.” Jabulani Radebe

“It was marvellous to work with Avocado and I really enjoyed myself. You rock guys!” Cliff Mapasha

” It was a very great course. It’s important to remember things and to keep them in your memory.” Sydney Mello

On Saturday, Avo had the privilege to work with a dynamic group of engineers. The morning was spent ‘bonding’ with each other, with Hanli doing the facilitation. They did some fabulous ’speed-dating’ and created two great pieces of drama! (Who ever said that engineers were boring! The WBHO guys and gals were game for anything!). Their energy and enthusiasm ensured that the day was a great success.

In the afternoon, we unpacked the communication challenges of being an engineer. For them, dealing with the stresses of hectic deadlines, shouldering massive responsibility and having to work with teams on site, creates some tough communication challenges. We spent time understanding the dynamics that were going on and then looking at practical tools to keep oneself in a logical, rational, constructive space…even when it looks like the wheels might be falling off! Anyway, enough from me! This is what the team had to say about the day:

“I felt that this was a marvellous, worthwhile course, that any corporate body should send future managers to. We learn’t a great deal about ourselves and each other. One would never have imagined the power of communication involved in every day life and situations.” Trevor Zumani

“Insightful. Now I know how I can deal with different situations at work. Assumptions (negative ones) can really kill or slow our progress. Improve listening skills is what I need to do.” Segametsi Smous

“Bloody marvellous! Excellent. Really useful for the work environment.” Pieter van Rooyen

“The course was very good and taught me how to tackle our problems. I think I learn’t a lot and will be using it in the future.” Amos Seleni

“It was a real eye-opener and will make my work life so much better.” Dawid Britz

“The course was good but I felt like I had more to learn.” Antonio Claudio T Dias

“The course was so helpful to me. It improved my potential and my English and I am still hoping to learn more” Sydney Mello

“It is very interesting. It helped us to open up and get to know each other better.” Jabulani Radebe

Those of you who know Avo, know that we are blessed to be surrounded by some very special people who work with us to create unique interventions for our Clients. In our ‘Connecting Conversations’ Diversity Programme, Shanthee Manjoo has shared her story with senior teams at both Nedbank and Standard Bank. We are absolutely thrilled that her memoir, “Classrooms in the Shade” is about to be published! We wanted to share some extracts with you and give you a chance to engage with her by responding on our blog site!

Meet Shanthee!

Hello There!
I clearly recall my dear father-about whom my story begins in ‘Classrooms in the Shade’ - bright as the morning star, making his way to our garden to sing his praises to God at dawn. He was the greatest influence in my life!

Chapter 1

Pietermaritzburg 1932

Jai! Jai! Jai! Hanuman gosaai
Kripa karo gurudev kinhaai…

His voice rose magnificently from the grapevine at the corner of the garden. Raising his right foot in the posture of Hanuman, he stood holding aloft a lota, the brass vessel from which water fell in a silvery arc. Water, Nourisher of man, Nourisher of the earth, falling to the ground in a gentle embrace. He was singing the Chalisa, a tribute to Hanuman, revered creature of God.

My father’s voice rose and reached the house in the east where Moulvi Aniff, the Muslim priest, awakening on time, was responding to the muezzin’s azan - the call to prayer from the minaret of the mosque. Allah ho Akbar! (God is great)

Beads of water gleamed on his shoulders, water from the cold shower that began his day. There was a hush in the Maritzburg air. The sparrows, hidden in their leafy perches, had not taken flight. His approach and splendid voice did not startle them, for he began his song of praise long before their own joyous clamour heralded the dawn.