I was honoured and humbled at the same time, when my artwork was exhibited in Ryazan, a city in the south of Moscow, Russia, on 20 November 2019. I appreciated that numerous people had contributed immensely to the physical manifestation of this event. And I expressed my gratitude to them. I also came to realise, during my moments of contemplation, that Deloitte (my first employer) was one of the silent contributors to this chapter of my life story, and I wish to share this tale, at this time.
One of the Director’s sister in law was a teacher in the school from which I graduated. As a consequence of his influence, my school offered an annual award to the best performer in accountancy. Deloitte was the sponsor of this merit award, and this is how I learnt about Chartered Accountancy. Consequently, when I obtained an A grade in accountancy, I looked up the company’s phone number in a telephone directory (this indicates how old I am) and called the Human Resources office and requested a bursary. The manager chuckled and told me that applications had closed but I was adamant and I convinced her that I have very excellent results and she agreed to see me.
Deloitte offered me a full scholarship and I subsequently completed my 3-year training contract with them. In 2008, I was selected for the Just in Time (JIT) programme where I was given the opportunity to work for the NYC office for 3 months. This became one of the defining moments of my life. This was my first overseas trip and one of my dreams came true.
My team was quite diverse, it consisted of people from China, India, Africa, Europe and America. I gained exposure to diverse cultures and this experience was both expansive and insightful.
I did not realize it at the time but the travel bug returned home with me and it did not stop growing. I continued to travel. And I relocated to NYC in 2012 and worked for another audit firm for 14 months.
I returned home to South Africa and the travel bug burrowed new pathways for me and I followed them. These led me to various countries, interesting cultural experiences where I learnt different languages, tasted exotic fruits, cooked interesting dishes, volunteered and explored different ways of expression.
One of these ways of expression was conveyed in a visual art form and the shapes were exhibited in Russia. Traveling to this land of bears and vodka was made possible by various people that I met along my path.
And it is with heartfelt gratitude that I write this letter. Ngiyabonga kakhulu (Thank you very much).
Who would have guessed that a small town South African girl would leave so many footprints in this big and beautiful world?
I still regret not having visited your exhibition in Ryazan 💔
You’re so sweet. You were there to share in the good news and to celebrate afterwards and that… makes my heart smile.