I met Caren Gorfil in Johannesburg on 28th February 2016. We were both attending a family wedding. I noticed that she was distracted and on the phone much of the time. My brother mentioned that Caren was supporting her daughter Kirsty who was going through another of her medical crises. He mentioned in passing that Kirsty was Bipolar and had “unusual shaking” during her “attacks”.

Hazel Bond and Robin Vanderplank, TRE® Providers in Durban, came in contact with the Director of Woza Moya, Mrs Sue Hedden and invited me to  join them for a TRE Introduction of introducing management, staff and community workers at Woza Moya.

Manuela Kacinari Wall and Christine Cornick began working with Ottery Youth Care Centre in Cape Town (for Juvenile Offenders) in April 2015 and have so far run a TRE courses with 20 of the staff and 18 of the boys in their care programme. Desiree English also joined the training team for some of the staff sessions and Jeremy de Tolly brought his male energy to the programme with the boys!

I had the privilege and pleasure yesterday to revisit the Chrysalis Academy, in Tokia, Cape Town. I interview the staff who deliver TRE to their youth…. they have 200 students residentially going through a 3 month rehabilitation program, 3 times a year.

I had hardly slept the night before – from the balcony of our house I watched as the fire raged across the mountain. Large areas that had already burnt were eerily beautiful and sparkled like millions of city lights in the blackness of the night. When the Tokai pine plantation caught alight trees exploded sending tornados of flames high into the sky.