On Thursday 17th May, Avo ran a Diversity Team Build for Standard Bank. It was an opportunity for us to connect two very special people, Matthew Ribnick and Lionel Davis, with the team at Group Risk.

Lionel Davis was a political activist and a prisoner on Robben Island for 7 years. On his release, he poured his energy into art and education. He later returned to Robben Island as a guide. He has very recently taken the huge step of retiring which meant leaving the Island. Oom Lionel shared his story of personal healing with the group at Constitution Hill. His words touched the audience and moved them to make the following comments regarding the way forward for their team;

“Be aware that bitterness traps us”
“Lionel’s journey of forgiveness: “Do not stereotype. See the individual.”
“Do not jump to conclusions, try to understand.”

(Lionel, your humanity, ability to forgive and your gentle strength, is an inspiration to me and to all who meet you. )

We were also entertained by the comic genius of Matthew Ribnick. We so enjoyed his ability to capture the variety of cultures and easily identifiable characters who make our land so rich. Matthew’s gift is to build bridges by helping his audience to build relationships with his characters: the external layers of culture are peeled away. We meet soul to soul. His performance triggered these responses:

” Affirm your own culture and the culture of others!”
” We have such a rich, diverse, different environment: we need to capitalise on and use our difference”
” Share yourself: be willing to explain”
“Open yourself to other experiences”

At Avo, we celebrate the gift of what we do: the gift of enabling people to connect in a variety of ways.

As you all can see from our blogsite, the avo’s have been trying to put the ‘avo magic’ into a couple of words. Today a friend happened to hop onto our blog site and she mailed me the following comment.

“I just had a look at your website (lunchtime reading)…wow!! I gotta tell you, that’s one of the coolest websites, and it seems like a really awesome place to work. My brother does this kind of work in Jamaica, and I am going to forward the link to him. Tell you what, as your company presents itself on the website, its definately the type of place that I’d want to work if I were looking for a job! Kudos to a refreshing place of employement.”

Now, I need to add that the woman who wrote this is one happening dynamic funky go-getter. If she has caught our energy and spirit in one lunchtime reading moment, then Avos, we just need to capture this in a couple of words. Easy hey!

Kudos to Carin and all those who keep this critical space alive with our energy and spirit!

Ever wished you could go on an Apprentice Challenge and an Amazing Race all at the same time? Well, the Creative Hop is just that! Avo launched this great new product with a dynamic Brand Development Team. The ‘taxi ‘ arrived to collect us and the three teams hopped on board, not knowing what lay ahead…

The day began with a Funky Fashion Challenge in the Garment District. Each team was assigned one seamstress and were given 1h30 minutes to design, shop for and execute their design. The winning team managed to get an entire dress made, complete with matching bag! I guess that’s the power of serious team work!

Next up was a reflective exercise in the Joburg Art Gallery followed by lunch and a mad race through the Oriental Plaza to find Henna for a tattoo challenge. After containing the security guards (who were convinced that something serious was going on) the teams were left to bolt around the plaza. Teams had to decide whether to stop and ask for help or to simply rush around blindly in the hope of stumbling upon their treasure. The winning team found a magnificent kit but it cost them a whopping R60.00. The next team in spent R11.00 and the final team spent a mere R7.00. As it all turned out, the expensive kit created the most beautiful tattoo and so that team won both the race and the challenge.

We then slowed the pace and were treated to scones, tea and a tour at the magnificent Rand Club. The elegant library served as a fine place for the teams to design an appropriate event for one of their brands. The day ended at the top of the Carlton Centre where the other challenges were played out.

It was a fabulous day of real team building around some creative opportunities. We have a rich and fascinating city on our door step. We invite you to come and play!

Avo and SAB have partnered to add a bit of creative sparkle to kids from the Mother of Peace Community and a great group of 9 year olds from the local squatter camp. Once a month, we spend a morning playing together.

In the first workshop, they painted huge trees on paper with their hands. This was done in the chapel and the volunteers spent more time cleaning the floor than supervising the children who were having a fabulous time blending, smooshing and generally ‘experiencing’ the wonder of paint.

The next workshop saw them designing the art work on their own personalised t-shirts to wear whilst being little Picasso’s. This became a sudden necessity when we sent the children home after the first workshop looking a little worse for wear (did I say they were painting trees or themselves? It’s amazing how quickly a clear brief can transmogrify itself into complete chaos!)

The third workshop was a plasticine sculpture workshop. After talking about how animals defend themselves, the children were challenged to invent their own beast with the most protective bits they could imagine. Once again, great fun was had as plasticine strips were twisted together and kebab sticks were used to hold the creations together.

The fourth workshop, held yesterday, was a beading workshop. Everyone became completely absorbed in designing their own key ring, bracelets and necklaces. Bling was in and the finished products were quite dazzling. Even the little two year olds, Princess and Dido, stunned us by carefully feeding one precious bead at a time onto tiger tail wire, with only a little help from the facilitators. 

Special thanks to all the facilitators: Andile Bhengu and Dale September from SAB: your involvement and enthusiasm is deeply appreciated. Renee Koekemoer from Standard Bank, thank you for also helping to design the innovative programme. Jeanette Dace, thanks for also being our logistics boff. Jeanne-Mare Africa, we are so glad that you initiated this art programme. Jean Claude from Mother of Peace, thanks for doing all the liaising, fetching and carrying of the children from the local school.

Riding through the Johannesburg CBD on a double-decker open-topped bus is one of the most exciting ways to experience the CBD. One gets to see the magnificent architectural detail on many of the old buildings, the extent to which the city has become home to people from all over Africa, the Urban Renewal which has taken place and an opportunity to view, close up, the massive paintings on the buildings which takes art out of the galleries and onto the streets.

Climbing off the bus, one gets to experience the fascinating segments of this city. Interested in Culture? We’ll take you down. The shops in this historic street are stocked with the most incredible things, mainly aimed at migrant workers who head home to Zimbabwe or rural areas in South Africa. Here you can buy anything from a coal iron, to castrating tools to a lobola jas (a long coat worn when marriage negotiations are taking place)!

One can also meet the extraordinary Peter Naidoo and have him explain the role of African Muthi whilst standing in his shop full of animal skins, herbs and bark. Peter’s Museum of Man and Science is one of the most significant tourist attractions in Jo’burg.

Interested in Urban Renewal? One can walk through the funky mosaic laden pavements of the garment district. This is a great way to meet and talk to the local seamstresses who produce the beautiful choir gowns and uniforms for the various burial societies. Interested in Struggle History? We’ll take you to and to the Hamidia mosque where Gandhi and various businessmen burned their registration papers in protest of racist legislation in 1907.

End your experience by watching the sun set over the city from the top of the Carlton centre, one of the tallest buildings in Africa. Avo Vision has taken Standard Bank and SAB on this unique hop. Each hop is tailor made to meet the specific requirements of the group.

Without doubt Jo’burg is one of the most under-rated spaces in South Africa. The flight to the North saw the near collapse of the city that was the economic heart-beat of South Africa. It soon developed a reputation of being dirty and dangerous.

But whilst a lot of that has started to change our attitudes and perceptions have not. So, if you want to get your team to begin to understand what makes our CBD tick, or you want to open their eyes to diversity, give us a call, we would love to facilitate that experience.

In a highly innovative ‘Apprentice Challenge’ held during the SAB MDP 2005, Sales Academy July and Sept 2005, a grand total of R150,000 was raised and donated to the Mother of Peace Community. 

Delegates were challenged, in syndicates, to create objects out of beads that they could sell. They had to design and execute a marketing plan and strategy that would ensure that their syndicate made the most money possible from their creations. Working under pressure, syndicates needed to apply the theoretical learning taught during the programmes. Success depended on their ability to be innovative in design and approach to the task as well as to use their networking skills. The winners were those who created a leadership style able to focus the team in a highly competitive entrepreneurial challenge. 

The money raised was donated to the Mother of Peace Community in Northriding. This is a lovingly run and carefully supervised home for a group of children ranging from about 9 months to 17 years old. Homes such as these, are under increasing pressure to accept abandoned and abused children. The Mother of Peace Community is ready to build a larger home. They already have two major communities in Zimbabwe and Natal. 

A huge thank you to all the SAB delegates, and the programme hosts, Samantha Rockey, Ashley Lovell from SAB and Jonathan Foster-Pedley from UCT GSB who raised this money. A special thank you to Cheryl Chelin for parking the donations on SAP. Here are the bricks you gave out of a handful of beads. Thank you for using your extraordinary vision and entrepreneurial skill to make a difference! Watch this site for news of building progress! 

I like to be the snap, crackle and pop in the training cereal.

I am passionate and intense.

I think that walking long distances, getting to the top of snow covered mountains, sleeping in deserts and travelling to colourful third world countries is about as much fun as a woman can have on this crazy planet of ours.

I train and facilitate.
I write new material and create new Avo products.
I love being a bridge.

My Cultural Exchange programme is all about creating opportunities for teams to meet extraordinary people, hear their stories and to ask them questions. Some of my highlights include a sculpture workshop with Noria Mabasa at the Apartheid Museum, listening to Lionel Davis at Constitution Hill sharing his Robben Island experience and Shanthee Manjoo reading from her memoirs.

I love running my Ama-zing-zing race where we get to sing with a choir in Hillbrow and challenge our ‘Afro-phobia’ by racing around the Rockey Street market.