2 episodes
Stories from the Wild Exploring wildness and resilience in South Africa
-
- Society & Culture
A podcast exploring wildness and resilience in South Africa. We have faced wave after wave of shock and upheaval, interspersed with elation, despair, hopelessness and musicality. We are a deeply traumatised nation and yet we persist. What is it that enables us to survive, sometimes to even thrive? Stories from the Wild digs around the treasure chest of South Africa to uncover secrets and mysteries we forgot to hold dear.
-
Stories From The Wild, Episode 1, Part 2: A Conversation with Paul Verryn
In our inaugural episode, we have a conversation with Bishop Paul Verryn, Methodist minister, human rights advocate, captivating mystic and champion of the poor. He describes the work he is currently doing around South Africa, hearings in communities called Spaces of Hope. Reminiscent of, but not related to the TRC, these hearings invite anyone to bring any subject matter to the fore. This ranges from apartheid wounds still wide open, to current human rights violations and all the trauma, difficulty and sadness in between. Its a phenomenal initiative that can play a critical role in South Africa’s health and functionality.
The second part of the interview is much more personal. We wanted to know how he not only survived decades of trauma, his own and those around him, but how he remains functional, focussed, active and passionate in the world. We asked him what he did to survive the public attack on his person by Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in 1998 when she accused him of molesting children, a charge he was cleared of.
In this tender conversation, Bishop Verryn talks frankly and generously about how he overcame this devastating trauma. He also tells us what he draws on to do his work, and why he is so focussed on poor and marginalised people and what that means spiritually.
Credits:
Interview by Stella Horgan
Sound recording and edit by Becky Harmon
Final Mix by Brendan Jury
Music by Rooiboklaagte B Assemblies of God Youth Choir
https://soundcloud.com/storiesfromthewild -
Stories From The Wild Episode 1, Part 1: A Conversation with Bishop Paul Verryn
In our inaugural episode, we have a conversation with Bishop Paul Verryn, Methodist minister, human rights advocate, captivating mystic and champion of the poor. He describes the work he is currently doing around South Africa, hearings in communities called Spaces of Hope. Reminiscent of, but not related to the TRC, these hearings invite anyone to bring any subject matter to the fore. This ranges from apartheid wounds still wide open, to current human rights violations and all the trauma, difficulty and sadness in between. Its a phenomenal initiative that can play a critical role in South Africa’s health and functionality.
The second part of the interview is much more personal. We wanted to know how he not only survived decades of trauma, his own and those around him, but how he remains functional, focussed, active and passionate in the world. We asked him what he did to survive the public attack on his person by Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in 1998 when she accused him of molesting children, a charge he was cleared of.
In this tender conversation, Bishop Verryn talks frankly and generously about how he overcame this devastating trauma. He also tells us what he draws on to do his work, and why he is so focussed on poor and marginalised people and what that means spiritually.
Credits:
Interview by Stella Horgan
Sound recording and edit by Becky Harmon
Final Mix by Brendan Jury
Music by Rooiboklaagte B Assemblies of God Youth Choir