baynham goredema's blog

I was interested to see a new publication on the streets of Harare called The Patriot. There are so many newspapers available, but it is clear that some of them are not profitable and are running at a loss and after buying this issue I haven’t seen any other issues on the stands. Judging by the content for the paper and the adverts it is clear who is funding The Patriot and its basic agenda.

I would like to state that this paper has no association to POVO (Patriots Of Valid Opinions)the Online magazine.

When arriving at church one sunday my wife pointed out two owls that were in a tree, and I took my camera and I snapped some photos. They were beautiful and big round eyes. I have always been fascinated by birds of prey having done science projects about them when I was in primary school. Outside our house we have two huge trees and owls used to come there almost every night throughout my child hood and used to hoot. For me owls were just normal birds of prey which were nocturnal. Unfortunately many people in Zimbabwe (I cant speak for the rest of this world) fear and loathe owls and are said to be messengers of witches, and used to fly witches to various places in the middle of the night. And having an owl come and land on top of your house is a bad omen. The tufts of feathers that look like horns do not help in creating a good image for the owl. Do not keep an Owl as a pet in Zimbabwe… For more suspicious animals go Here

This is the challenge that I pose to you today? Zeal is defined as having a great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective. This is how I came up with name XEALOS which was derived from the word zealous. It embodies my attitude and approach to life and to my work. And I hope to instill this in all my peers and clients.

In your pursuit of a cause or an objective, whether it is business, social, religious, humanitarian – for us to reap the most benefits and impact positively on others as well, we need to approach it with great energy and enthusiasm. It seems designers as much as they need websites dont ever seem to get around to getting their own personal websites up so this is an achievement I am really proud of and glad i got done. The site showcases work dating back to 2005.  There is nothing more critical to the success and effectiveness of an organization or company than how it is perceived.

Over the years what I have realised is that the best jobs and most creative solutions have come about when the client trusts your decisions and provides you with as much info as you request and still leaves you to do the design work. They understand that design is a process, and there are no magic-wand-solutions. Building relationships is an integral part of our work. As a designer I am not just a service provider but a strategic partner to my clients and by gaining a thorough understanding of their business and their marketing objectives I am able to provide the best solution that best communicates their brand to the target audience. Adhering to strong ethics I assure you of my commitment to high standards and creativity in responding to your needs.
To view my work go to www.xealos.com

Raka Raka

Growing up in the 90s in Zimbabwe children had to find alternative means of entertainment. Today the youth have so much at their disposal,  TV the whole day with different channels, internet, toys, and play stations. Unfortunately with this boom of entertainment at their disposal, todays youth are not required to be creative and resourceful and tend to have less friends because of staying indoors so much.

We had to improvise for toys, using bricks as cars and making wire cars. My main focus today will not be on the the toys but on the games that we played back then.
Most games  were very interactive and always depended on having a group of more than 5 people hence were good for building social skills and interaction. We managed to keep ourselves very entertained. And it was good unadultered entertainment with no age restrictions and parental guidance advisory statements. Most people of this era would agree with me when I say we had it good while growing up and the current youth will not enjoy their youth as much as we did. Some may not agree with.

Most of these games were ball games and these balls were made by skilled craftsmen who were known to make these balls from wrapped plastics (Recylcling!? we were green way before it became a fad!). The main plastic being a 5kg or Red Seal Roller meal or Ngwerewere, then sometimes it would have a net of plastics to make it really compact so it could bounce.

Hwishu

A ball game similar to cricket in concept where you have two teams. The X represents one team and the dot the opposition. It can be played by an even number of players from four upwards. The more the merrier

Objective
The Game consisted of a large circle where the team [X] that was on the offensive would all gather. The defending team[C] would stand in strategic positions behind the scoreline [F]. Player A would roll the ball towards team X. A player from X would come out and kick the ball as far as he could then the whole team would run and touch the scoreline and back to the home base where they were safe. A player kick the ball only once for each roll. One completed cycle will be worth 1 point. The defensive team have to collect the ball and try to strike a player before he makes it back to the home base. Players can also be eliminated if they kick the ball in the air and the opposition catches it in the air bounces and shouts “Hwishu!” If a player kicks outside a defined boundary which was usually someones yard (Balls would get confiscated and destroyed so a reserve ball would always be on standby.) Again if a player kicks a ball and it doesn’t go past the scoreline then he is eliminated. Once the offensive team reached a certain number of points then those who had been eliminated could get a second life. Once games limit had been reached everyone who was eliminated would have to run from the sidelines into home base for a second life. The opposing team could strike you and eliminate you before you reached the home base. Once all have been eliminated the two teams would swap.

For a list of more games go Here

Raka Raka

Growing up in the 90s in Zimbabwe children had to find alternative means of entertainment. Today the youth have so much at their disposal,  TV the whole day with different channels, internet, toys, and play stations. Unfortunately with this boom of entertainment at their disposal, todays youth are not required to be creative and resourceful and tend to have less friends because of staying indoors so much.

We had to improvise for toys, using bricks as cars and making wire cars. My main focus today will not be on the the toys but on the games that we played back then.
Most games  were very interactive and always depended on having a group of more than 5 people hence were good for building social skills and interaction. We managed to keep ourselves very entertained. And it was good unadultered entertainment with no age restrictions and parental guidance advisory statements. Most people of this era would agree with me when I say we had it good while growing up and the current youth will not enjoy their youth as much as we did. Some may not agree with.

Most of these games were ball games and these balls were made by skilled craftsmen who were known to make these balls from wrapped plastics (Recylcling!? we were green way before it became a fad!). The main plastic being a 5kg or Red Seal Roller meal or Ngwerewere, then sometimes it would have a net of plastics to make it really compact so it could bounce.

Hwishu

A ball game similar to cricket in concept where you have two teams. The X represents one team and the dot the opposition. It can be played by an even number of players from four upwards. The more the merrier

Objective
The Game consisted of a large circle where the team [X] that was on the offensive would all gather. The defending team[C] would stand in strategic positions behind the scoreline [F]. Player A would roll the ball towards team X. A player from X would come out and kick the ball as far as he could then the whole team would run and touch the scoreline and back to the home base where they were safe. A player kick the ball only once for each roll. One completed cycle will be worth 1 point. The defensive team have to collect the ball and try to strike a player before he makes it back to the home base. Players can also be eliminated if they kick the ball in the air and the opposition catches it in the air bounces and shouts “Hwishu!” If a player kicks outside a defined boundary which was usually someones yard (Balls would get confiscated and destroyed so a reserve ball would always be on standby.) Again if a player kicks a ball and it doesn’t go past the scoreline then he is eliminated. Once the offensive team reached a certain number of points then those who had been eliminated could get a second life. Once games limit had been reached everyone who was eliminated would have to run from the sidelines into home base for a second life. The opposing team could strike you and eliminate you before you reached the home base. Once all have been eliminated the two teams would swap.

For a list of more games go Here