A year at the Berea Mail – these are my top five articles of 2021

IN February 2021, I took on the role of a journalist for the Berea Mail, transferring from its sister publication, the Northglen News. As the New Year approaches, 10 months and a few hundred articles later, 2022 is just around the corner.

2021 has been a whirlwind in the fast-paced news room of our weekly print publication and ever-present website. It’s been a privilege to meet many members of the Berea community. From fibre installation to municipal elections, we heard what the community had to say. In-between, the July unrest erupted with looting ‘like never before’ and a resilient community spirit to match – I even spotted President Cyril Ramaphosa inspecting the damage in Springfield Park.

We lived through another year of the Covid-19 pandemic and saw several clinics pop up with vaccines for Berea residents. Many small business and local vendors struggled to stay afloat, including the Durban beachfront sand artists and Street Lit book vendors and we were there to hear it all. Several prominent restaurants closed their doors or relocated, including Glenwood’s Parc Cafe, Blue Zoo at Mitchell Park and The Burger Bar in Morningside.

Choosing five favorites from all of these articles is no easy task, but I’ve given it a go:

Lantern Heath

This year I wrote a few articles about the struggles faced by residents at the Umbilo-based block of flats, Lantern Heath. Pam Mathys quickly became Lantern Heath’s resident publicist, contacting me to share the latest happenings at the block. Meeting this community and listening to their stories was humbling, and sometimes heart breaking, but nothing could have prepared me for their Christmas party. From the little they had, Lantern Heath offered me the pizza from their Christmas meal – a luxury that is less than scare, I’m sure.  One of my favorited articles was written during the July unrest:

Read more here: Grocery hampers offer a lifeline to Umbilo residents

Street Lit

Interviewing the Street Lit book vendors in the Berea area was truly inspiring. The co-ordinator for the project, Illa Thompson told me how these formerly homeless book vendors had turned their lives around by selling books. I interviewed several vendors and heard their stories of resilience.

Read more here: Street Lit book vendors: ‘Find your fighting spirit’

My heritage

I learn a lot on the job, but I didn’t expect to learn about myself. During Heritage month, I did just that when I was tasked with writing a personal piece on my own heritage. It was no easy task to do some introspection, and it took a little courage to share my own opinions after years of writing objectively. I enjoyed the challenge!

Read more here: How a DNA test revealed my heritage

Looting

It was a hectic time reporting on the KZN unrest and looting in July. Unabated, mass looting shocked communities where tensions were already running high amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. Reporting on the protests was a round-the-clock job and it wasn’t easy venturing into the thick of it, but it was worth it when the community came out to pick up the pieces. While spotting the president was a close second, my favorite article was one of resilience.

Read more here: WATCH: Business owners, volunteers clean up scorched remains in Springfield

Saambr

The South African Association for Marine Biological Research (Saambr) at uShaka Marine World shares many interesting stories with us. There were many articles about Saambr successfuly rehabilitating wildlife, but perhaps my favorite article was about conquering fear with education.

Read more here: uShaka’s Zama rattles snake phobia with education

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