Facing Stories

In South Africa there are so many stories worth telling and sharing, and storytelling is seen as part of the culture for many people. But, as Tiffany Mugo of The Open Society Fellowship argues; “we are not good in archiving”. So it makes sense, Mara Spruyt and Mark Turpin thought, to capture some stories.

During her recent stay in South Africa Mara interviewed several people - and made portrait-stories of five young South Africans age 25-35. Successful in the eyes of others, as they run their own businesses, overcame major difficulties or travelled the world dedicated to societal change. Mara spoke to them about meaningful moments in their lives when things went differently than expected  – moments of struggle, failure and mistakes. And what they learned.

The result are personal portraits in photo and text. In the next part you will find them. Each story stands alone and can be read separately in any order. Then, Mara shares the insights she took from the five conversations and gives a personal reflection on both the content and process. We conclude with some final thoughts.