My family ventured from Apartheid South Africa in search of a friendlier place for me to grow up. A quest for belonging ensued where I came to identify as a world citizen, having a Canadian experience. In reaction to our violent ancestral past, I strive to be a unity builder. And, to be clear, I don’t mean unity through uniformity — I mean unity that thrives in diversity.
This meandering journey is peppered with experiences of collaborative community building. The most prevalent, in my memory, have been the creation of a music therapy program for federally sentenced women; the founding of a neighbourhood group with the Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition; and the publication of a monthly neighbourhood magazine. Every effort is built on the foundation of an evolving faith practice. These projects have taken me deep into social spaces that have altered my heart and expanded my vision.
More recently, writing and research are opening doors in a life that, as a child, I had thought would end around my age. What a curious notion! In reality, I feel that my creative life is just beginning: the fruit of experience. I dream of one day being able to sit in Cape Town again, perhaps at a desk with a view of the ocean, to craft a narrative that will lead to the next chapter of this choose-your-own-ending story.
Kim Davids Mandar 