DINEO RANAKA
“There is a sublime fear, for our overall well-being, currently doing the rounds. We fear for the safety of our children, and have become overprotective as a result. We are concerned for our parents and grandparents. Given the fast-spreading nature of the virus and how you can contract it innocently and ignorantly, the only personal challenge I have felt so far is not being able to freely spend time with my loved ones. Not being able to pop in and see my parents at free will is hard. But, I understand that now is not the time to be rebellious. I have been taking my cue from our leader and the Isaiah 26:20 Bible verse that reads: ‘Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until His wrath has passed by.’
“Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, weekend outings with our four children were always a given. Confining them to our yard hasn’t been easy, and so has constantly explaining the virus — without obviously making them too frightened to live after this pandemic. As part of the food, hospitality and entertainment industries, which all require some form of people-servicing, my business The Siba Co has been affected immensely. Most projects that I had planned to launch this year have been pushed out and some are on hold, including international bookings. Fortunately, last year, we invested on sibamtongana.com and other digital platforms that have now come in very handy. We are discovering efficient ways of working remotely and being more tech-savvy. This period has also brought me closer to God as I now spend more time praying and reading, something I had been yearning to do more of. I find that feeding myself with material that leaves me feeling peaceful and positive has helped me navigate this period. I love how quickly our church jumped on to the ‘online sermons’ bandwagon. What I really miss, though, is praising and worshipping God with other worshippers — it’s such a small gesture, but I miss it so much. In response to COVID -19, I have created a small kitchen at home where I’ve started a series of lo-fi social media videos for easy, healthy and wholesome meals that people can replicate. It’s a lot of work, with four kids buzzing around — but, they are the cutest though [chuckles].