"I am back" Saying these words makes an assumption that somehow I had disappeared from the face of world. However I have been around, I have been busy being mom to my 5 year old gorgeous little boy Xavier Setso, I have been busy building my professional career as a mental health professional in the area of Transcultural Mental Health, I have been busy giving my time volunteering with the African Australian community in Queensland, which has earned me the tittle of "Community Leader" a tittle of which I use but not necessary the title that defines me. I call myself a Motswana woman, a mom , a wife, a leader, small business owner, mental health advocate, social cohesion and social inclusion and social justice nerd etc. Big words that means nothing to those who don't know me. This special space for me in the world wide web is a place where hopefully you will get to understand many of these aspects that makes me the woman I am. I will share my ideas, I am hoping to inspire, to be inspired and to be all that I am here. I am a passionate woman, resilient, driven, determined, loving, caring, woman strong in my faith, generous, just to name a few. I never left - but I AM HERE!

An audience with Sharon Orapeleng discussing African Literature

2012 is the National Year of Reading and Brisbane Libraries will be offering programs across the city in support of this year.

Continuing my partnership with Brisbane City Council, this year (2012) I will be giving talks on African Literature at several Brisbane City Libraries from April. I will take you through the history of Africa literature, all time classic african books, celebrated African authors, and the new trend in African literature, I may even share with you one of my poems:)

Confirmed dates and venues of my upcoming talks:

5th April 2012, 10-11am: Sunny Bank Hill Library

24th April 2012, 10-11am: Kenmore Library

4th May 2012, 2-3pm: Grange Library

19th May 2012, 11 - 12pm: Brisbane Square Library

29th May 2012, 2 - 3pm: Carindale Library

15th June 2012, 2 - 3pm: Inala Library

In the next couple of weeks, I will put a list of African books to borrow at some of these libraries.

Where I have been!

If you have just visited my blog and wondering why I havent been updating it, well I have a very good excuse. In the last year, I have been very busy creating life. On the 27 March 09, I gave birth to my absolutely gorgeous son, Xavier Setso Cross. What a blessing he is to my life.

Sharon

BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL - CULTURAL SAFARI AFRIKA

HOLLAND PARK LIBRARY -April 2 -29, 2009

(A CELEBRATION OF BRISBANE'S AFRICAN COMMUNITIES)

Tuesday 28 April (12-30 - 1.45) AFRICAN LITERATURE DISCUSSION-By Sharon Orapeleng

Please join me for this open book club session as I will be discussing books by great African authors. Some of these books will be available from the Holland Park library.

Here is a list of books available:

RED DUST - Gillian slavo
IN THE COMPANY Of CHEERFUL LADIES - Alexander McCall Smith
THE KALAHARI TYPING SCHOOL FOR MEN - Alex McCall Smith
SAY YOU''RE ONE O THEM - Uwen Akpan
ECHO OF AN ANGRY GOD - Beverley Harper
GOLD MINE - Wilbur Smith
CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY – Alan Paton
DISGRACE – Coetzee
WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS – Jan Coetzee
THE EYE OF THE LEOPARD - Henning Mankell
MY SON'S STORY – Nadine Gordiner
SILENT PREDATOR – Tony Park
OUR OF AFRICA – Karen Blixen
THE OTHER SIDE OF SILENCE - Andre Brink

Come lets celebrate African Literature!

MAYA ANGELOU - A WOMAN SHOULD ...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...

...Enough money within her control

to move out and rent a place of her own,

even if she never wants to or needs to...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...

Something perfect to wear if the employer,

or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..

A youth she's content to leave behind....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...

A past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .....

A set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill,

and a black lace bra...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...

One friend who always makes her laugh...

and one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....

A good piece of furniture

not previously owned by anyone else in herfamily...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...

Eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems,

and a recipe for a meal,that will make her guests feel honored...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...

A feeling of control over her destiny...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

How to fall in love without losing herself..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

how to quit a job, break up with a lover,

and confront a friend without ruining the friendship...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

When to try harder...

and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

That she can't change the length of her calves,

the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

that her childhood may not have been perfect..but it's over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

What she would and wouldn't do for love or more...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

How to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..

whom she can trust, whom she can't,

and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

Where to go...be it to her best friend's kitchen table...

or a charming inn in the woods...

when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

What she can and can't accomplish in a day...a month...and a year...

By

Maya Angelou (African American)

(Are you listening ladies....?)

The NO.1 Ladies Detective Agency- Alexander McCall Smith

The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Mma Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's own first lady detective, her agency set at the foot of Kgale hill, Gaborone. When her father dies after a hard life as a miner, she inherits a decent sum of money left for her by him. Mma Ramotswe invests it all in a detective agency proudly named "The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency." She solves her cases with common sense and bravery. Her cases include cheating husbands, insurance scams and even distrustful fathers.

Eloquently written, charming, with a wry sense of humour. This book has now been adopted into film shot entirely in Botswana, directed by the late, Anthony Minghella and starring Grammy ward winning star, Jill Scott.

TANDIA - Bryce Courtenay

TANDIA

They call her a child of all Africa. She is half Indian, half African, beautiful & intelligent. Brutalised by the South African police at the age of she is only sixteen. Her fear of the white man leads her to join the black resistance movement, where she trains as a terrorist. With her in the fight for justice is the one white man Tandia can trust, the welterweight champion of the world, Peekay.

A heartwrenching novel, amazingly written, so vivid, it stays with you long after....