Every year South Africans celebrate Heritage Day. It is a day to remember our cultural heritage and the diversity that makes up our nation. This year Orchard: Africa sponsored a heritage celebration event in Khayelitsha. We gathered local partner churches and, together, celebrated through dance, music, poetry, and speeches. The dancing and the singing had everyone’s toes tapping and the colorful traditional outfits were inspiring.

I grew up without television. The apartheid government firmly controlled the South African broadcasting company and deemed the “little black box” a threat to their ideology. Television only came into our homes when I was a teenager, which meant that the radio played a vital part of my childhood entertainment. I would rush home after school, grab my snack and camp out on the carpet in our living room to listen to the next installment of The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe. The idea of entering another world through thin veils found in our world fascinated me and listening to the dramatized radio version of the Chronicles of Narnia captured my imagination far more than subsequent film versions ever did.

Ayler Msolo is a natural artist. Growing up, he loved being creative. As he got older, he knew that he needed to work and provide for his family. Ayler came up with a great way of using his creative side to earn a living – being a barber.