Echoes of the soul: Exploring the Human Experience

  Cooking is more than a chore; it’s a chance to explore creativity, celebrate flavours, and nourish the soul. A while back, I prepared a dish that embodies this philosophy—a hearty, colorful plate that’s as satisfying to the palate as it is to the eyes. On one side of the plate, you'll find creamy mashed potatoes, perfectly smooth and drizzled with melted butter. The slight hint of pepper and salt in the mash creates a velvety, comforting experience with every bite. Next to it are sweet potato medallions, roasted to perfection. Their natural sweetness was enhanced with a light seasoning before they turned beautifully golden in the oven. The sweetness of the medallions is balanced by roasted carrot sticks, coated in a subtle blend of spices to create a tender, smoky flavor. I went with sautéed beef strips mixed with onions and green bell peppers for protein. The beef was cooked until tender, blending harmoniously with the caramelized onions and the crunch of the bell peppers. The s...

                           Image credit: Tonton Laval - YouTube In the heart of Kinshasa, commune de Ngamba stands as a stark testament to government neglect. Once a place of promise, it has become a community plagued by poverty, health crises, and a lack of basic infrastructure. The absence of essential services like electricity, clean water, and proper waste management has turned Ngamba into a symbol of despair. For the thousands who call it home, every day is a fight for survival.   A community on the brink Ngamba’s narrow pathway are choked with uncollected waste, creating an environment ripe for disease. Pools of stagnant water dot the landscape, becoming breeding grounds for mosquitos and waterborne illnesses. Families live in makeshift shelters surrounded by debris, cut from basic sanitation. Years of governmental mismanagement have left residents without the resources needed to lead dignified lives...

                        By: Dorcas Mbuyi   The struggles most students face during and after graduation. A picture of the University of Free State, Bloemfontein campus.   Success has many definitions depending on how we perceive it. Whether you are a straight-A student or not, success plays a vital role in students' lives. However, we grew up or were taught that to get the best jobs, you needed to be a top-performing student. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case today, top performing students are sitting at home with degrees and no jobs. What is the purpose of spending years fighting for a qualification that will get you nowhere? I believe that many students are studying and fearing whether once they cross that stage, they will be able to find employment. According to Stats SA, in the first quarter of the year 2023, 32,9 % of people are said to be unemployed in South Africa ( https://tradingeconomics.com/south-afri...

            Opinion/26 Jun 2024             By Dorcas Mbuyi     A woman was seen cleaning her toilet made from tin outside her home.   The horror story continues as there have been minor changes since the DRC's independence on the 30 th  of June 1960. The country has been under attack for many years and there seems to be no aid coming in. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second largest country in Africa. The country has 250 dialect languages and Kinshasa, the capital, is the second-largest French-speaking city in the entire world. There have been decades of war and conflict in the DRC which has taken over 5.4 million lives. The United Nations has reported that nearly 1,000 child soldiers are recruited yearly. The attacks are ongoing; most victims are women who are sexually abused by these soldiers. Besides, the negative aspects of the country, the DRC is enri...

                26 June 2024           By Dorcas Mbuyi  Image credit : Alchetron.com The first Congolese war started in 1996 whereby Rwanda and Uganda invaded parts of the DRC preferably the Eastern part. The aim of the invasion was to protect the DRC by de-rooting the remainder of the perpetrators of the genocide. However, an alliance was formed between Ugandan and Rwandan army which eventually led to the defeat of the then dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.   After nearly twenty years, the war is still on-going as the number of fatality of women and children continues to increase drastically.   In a recent interview with the SABC, the Vice Prime of the DRC, Jean-Pierre Bemba told the SABC reporter that the war in the Eastern part of Congo should have ended in 2003, however the war continues as the Rwanda is after the minerals that is embedded within the country.   Although, the stat...

  OPINION /    Let me please your palate. By Dorcas Tabitha Mbuyi Here’s the thing, I love food. I mean who doesn’t, cooking brings me a lot of pleasure. Have you seen the art behind every detail of ingredients and the different tastes merged to complete a dish?   How much do you know about the food you consume and its effects on your health?   Firstly, our consumption of food has increased drastically in the past 20 years. We have seen an increase in Westernized styles of food including more fats, meat, and oils, and a more popular one is soft drinks. According to the Food Technology magazine , South Africans and most of the world consume less vegetables. The total percentage of sugar intake was 12,3%, above the initial recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO). The percentage of salt consumption levels is 8,1 g/day, which is double the recommendation of WHO. What we eat affects more than our physical health but also our mental h...