Welcome to a serving of padkos during this time of the global corona virus crisis. Afrikaans dictionaries translate padkos as ‘provisions’ in English. It is made up of two separate Afrikaans words: pad, meaning road; and kos, meaning food. So it describes food for the journey. We are aware that to a small degree, padkos has developed a sense of community and participation over the years, and we have missed our connection with you. We hope everyone’s okay out there, taking care of yourselves and of each other. Please let us know how you’re doing, and whether you’d like more regular communication with and from us.
There has been a lot of written stuff emerging from the corona period. Much of it excellent but as much and more has been noise and distraction. One written piece that spoke clearly through the noise was an interview with Pope Francis from earlier in April, and we are sharing it with you here in the hope it will provide food for our journey together. There is much to draw on in the Pope’s thoughts here.
We have also included for you, a new poem from the extraordinary Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o called ‘Dawn of Darkness’ – shorter, but no less rewarding and beautiful.
Click here for the Pope’s piece and the poem.
NOTICE: We also want to take this opportunity to clarify that, because of the Covid-19 virus situation, we will obviously not be doing any padkos-related gatherings till further notice. We miss not seeing you and learning from you but, in the meantime friends, be safe, be smart, & be kind.