Hsrd work
This Growth is CONSISTENT
Fathers in Business: Issue 1
Written by: AMK Editor
We often hear of this phrase ‘a recipe for success’ but do we ever stop to think about the ingredients to make that phrase come to life on a consistent basis – IN EVERY SINGLE DISH life presents to us? Mr Sibu Nyembe is no stranger to that phrase: in fact he lives that phrase both in the literal and figurative sense.
Both his passion and career path is deeply embedded in the flames of the kitchen, as he chose to do what many of us are a bit hesitant of and that is: focusing on the individual set goal. This single-minded set goal has rewarded him and opened up doors in his chosen career he always mentions that the journey was well worth it. What sews this in so beautifully is that he had a team member side by side with him proving the statement: ‘TEAM WORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK’ as they still continue to be an equal part of each other’s success – growing together in marriage and in business. When asked what makes your marriage worth the journey he says “one of the key strengths can be found in this verse: Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you not forsake you (Deuteronomy 31v6)” – when taking a look at the fruits they have produced so far it is not surprising that they keep taking God as the center of their chosen field.
The blessing keep on overtaking them as they welcomed their first born baby girl in recent years. He was caught up in an overwhelming sense of love as he said ”Ophiwumusa is my first beautiful daughter”. One can’t help but come up with this conclusion of how it is truly beneficial to have your spouse as your partner in all departments of your life. When asked this question: is there a difference between who you were before becoming a father and now owning this title of fatherhood his response is inspirational: ”I can say there is a slight difference. I notice that I spend less time trying to push an extra mile for success as I am more focused on taking note of the little memories I can create with my family. It is funny because when I found out we were expecting I noticed myself push extra hard because I really wanted the best for my family but I now know that it is not going to be found in more money but rather the intentional daily memories I create with my family”. He went on to say “I remain a hard working husband and dad but I however will not let my career cloud me from what is very important to me and that will always be God, marriage and family”.
The advice that he would like to share with fathers that are in full-time business is as follows “honestly I would say teach your child/children business and most importantly how to run a business but baring in mind that you should not force them to take over your business if they do not like your chosen career. Remember to allow them to do what they enjoy and let the career then be birthed from there”.
Mr Sibu Nyembe better known as the food stylist: Chef Sibu hosts pop up restaurant events such as Mothers’ Day brunches/lunches/dinners, Valentines Day and Special themed occasions along with food truck takeouts under the umberella of his business known as Chef Sibu Nyembe. Details of how you can reach him are below:
Chef Sibu is a motivation to other as those who are surround him echo the words of being proud of the man he has become while continuing to add inspiration and hard work – inspiring those people to take a leap of faith and follow their dreams. There is nothing more obvious than his ability to show consistent growth. Trusting that his visible actions of his success is a great motivation for our individual successes in life this life.
Every Step leads to lessons
AMK Ladies Edition
Written by: AppreciateMan Editor
When it comes to choosing a career path – some are led by their childhood thoughts and dreams
while others are led by alternative pathways – what both paths have in common is you can only
produce fruits with dedication and persistence. For Miss Agness Zwapano her path was
alternative as she was led straight into the accounting profession. This experience proved that in
order to succeed it had to be accompanied by taking ownership of what she had faced in the past
and also drawing her very own personal life lessons from it while still remaining focused on her
purpose.
The biggest lesson that she has drawn from her childhood is to carry out all her decisions within
her mind with a set of visible actions. This lesson came to light in her matric (grade 12) year as
she had delayed applying for a university entrance. She reflected on that time by saying the
following “I had not applied in my Matric year. Most universities were full or difficult to get in
when my results came out”. Thankfully a friend of hers had referred her to an institution that was
still available for registration. Her initial plan was to apply for law but by the grace of alternative
decision she found herself registering for accounting. She says “I remember saying to the student
advisor I have never done accounting in my life will I cope and he assured me that I would be
fine. I ended up studying Bcom Accounting”.
When it comes to interacting with Miss Zwapano one may easily assume that accounting was her
first and only choice. This is drawn from her passion for her chosen career. She went on to say
“accounting is so broad and there are so many career options”. The advice that she gives people
who are interested in pursuing a career in accounting is as follows “seek career guidance early in
Matric or in your first year of university. It is also important to gather information on the field –
once you have enough information, you will know what steps to take after your first degree”.
We all are given 24 hours in a day and some of us fit each and every one of our tasks so well –
while the rest of us feel like adding another 10 hours to assist us in completing them. Miss
Zwapano has managed to find credits way to make every moment count as she fits she is part of
the group that manages her time efficiently. She credits her relationship with God as the sole
reason for her present accomplishments. “God has contributed significantly in my life, as I care
less about what is trending in the world. I am not really concerned with the latest thing because I
rely on being grounded in His Word” she continued to share. One of her favourite bible verse can
be found in 1 Peter 2 verse 9 the King James Bible Version reads it as follows ‘But ye are a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew
forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light’. She states
the reasons for her selection by saying “it always reminds me that God values me more than my
wildest imagination, more than I can ever fathom, He has bigger plans for me and all his
children”.
When asking a group of her friends to describe her in one word, they chose three: GENTLE,
KIND and FIRM. Her little sister was also part of the panel and she went on to say “I am so
blessed to have a big sister like her as she has a way of making a person feel like they are
listened to but also (if needed) gives the best advice”.
Miss Agness Zwapano is living proof that every step lead to lessons. So should you find yourself
in a path that you did not initially plan out – be conscious of that environment and pick up
lessons as you make your journey to carve your individual success.
Love Works
When Art Works
Written by: AppreciateMan Editor
Namibian Chef Life
One of the most attractive things about the African continent its ability to produce foods so rich in taste and artistic presentation. It is no wonder that Chef Daniel in 2017 had a goal set to not only be a professional chef but he wanted to work beyond the borders of his country (South Africa).
The goal was set and now fast forward to 2021 he is now working as a chef in Namibia. “When I set my mind and heart to achieve something I never give up on it, that is not in my nature” he mentioned.
He had nothing but praises for his new found location his comments were as follows “on my journey to Namibia, I fell in love with the landscape and knew that this was the place I would be creating more magic in the kitchen”.
He plans to explore more locations and gain further experience in the African continent. He says “I do not see myself being a chef only in South Africa, I am in love with the whole continent and plan on exploring more dishes in this beautiful land”.
He admits that it was not always easy especially when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. He says “I must say when I found myself not being able to do what I love because the government in my country called for a lock down to reduce the spread of this virus, I thought that my dreams would be delayed”. He continues to encourage people by the following words regarding the pandemic “please be safe practice safety procedures, even when you are tired of following the process, follow it anyway, keep you and your loved ones protected”.
Chef Daniel proved to be more than a fighter as he pushed through that difficult season “things really did not look great but I found other ways to make sure my dream of working in another country was fulfilled” he added.
It took a little over three years for him to see his dream come to life but now it has found a new tangible life and he is living the Namibian Chef Life.
For a Mother’s Love
Written by: AppreciateMan Editor
Mother’s Day Special [FOOD STYLIST CATERS FOR MOTHER’S DAY]
For those who still have an old-school vein in them. They will testify to this common trend. Our mothers could not stay away from the kitchen – in fact many of us can testify that there is ‘nothing as good as when mother makes a Sunday meal – nothing comes close to it’. Most men are nodding to this ever so true statement: you have probably been caught saying a similar phrase.
Now we are living in the present and most people grow up and start to see how challenging a mother’s job is. Some of us go back to when we were young and difficult but yet every Mother’s Day we tried to be on our best behaviour but it only truly sinks in the older you become – especially with finally being a parent yourself.
Chef Sibusiso Nyembe presents a Mother’s Day Lunch – out of all those combination of the above reflections and along with being inspired to do something different this Mother’s Day. He hosts his very first Mother’s Day Lunch. When asked what was the inspiration behind this event he says “well, it was something different to what I have been doing and thought let me start doing themed lunches and dinners for up-coming public celebrations, the first celebration was this Mother’s Day”. He further mentioned how even the month of May is very close to his heart as this is his late father’s birthday – it was absolutely a fitting time to host his first themed event and he is definitely planning to continue.
The year 2020 in his eyes was quite a challenging year as he is a full-time chef, when lock-down regulations were implanted due to this Covid-19 global pandemic. He noticed that people were a bit hesitant as soon as hospitality was opened again. “We really took a huge hit, before the pandemic I would host a lot of people given the nature of my business but now as life began to open up again, people became sceptical about coming they highest concern was safety” he further stated. Thankfully Chef Sibu has worked hard to clear all those concerns by adhering to the lockdown protocols he went on to say “after all my observations I see that business is slowly picking up again”.
Soweto is known to have a rich history even great leaders such as the late former president of South- Africa ‘Tata Madiba/Nelson Mandela’ has lived in the very soil of this location. It was so fitting for Chef Sibu to always centre his events in the very heart of his home-town. He was greatly filled with excitement as he said “this is my first Mother’s Day lunch and I am hoping they will be many more to come. In the root of things, this is implementing something different in ‘ekasi style’ blended with a different style of cooking just like the dinners I have previously hosted. It is simply a unique buffet style hosted in my hometown”.
One of the chef’s signatures when hosting any event is that he always makes sure people have a private experience as a result sits are always limited and the guest list works by reservation only. So when asked: how can people get to know about future events? His response was as follows “you can follow me on my social media platform – my Facebook page name is: Chef Sibu Nyembe that is where future guests can find out up-coming events”. This page also has a wealth of information for any food-lover as this is also the page where you can find good food recipes you can prepare in the comfort of your own home.
As this session drew to a close he shared a special message for all mothers “to all our mothers HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY from Chef Sibu Nyembe and I love you all because without you we wouldn’t be here doing what we LOVE”.
Remembering that it is his late father’s birthday month, it is very humbling to know this fact that his father would have been a proud grandfather as the chef also announced that this will be his wife’s first Mother’s Day as they are both first time parents. The definition of team work is found in these two as today she will team up with him “my wife will be in the kitchen with me, doing what we both love our appreciation to all mothers and guests as love is expressed through our dishes”.
However he has not forgotten his daddy duties as he smiled and said “one of my personal biggest highlight of this day is when this function draws to a close and I just work with my precious daughter as daddy will make sure she gets spoiled”.
It couldn’t be more fitting to host such unique experience today as the world celebrates Mother’s Day. A coming together to show a deep appreciation for all ladies in a motherly position this event is truly for a mother’s love.
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY FROM THE AMK TEAM!
May the love & service edition
This May we focus on love and service. Be inspired by those who know that to love is to serve – they go hand in hand.
Her words in Motion
This Love Locked-Down [Issue 5]
Composed by: AppreciateMan Editor
Lisa Brown reminds us of how untrue this saying is: “sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me” follow her on a journey as she shows us that her words truly are in motion…
We hide our faces behind the lying masks
We’re smiling yet crying
We’re living yet dying
We all want to be the perfect image so badly that we don’t even realize were all hiding what is true
We all want to be number one
But none of us know that number one does not exist
We’ve laughed, cried, lived and “died” thats what makes us all living proof of the word woman
We choose to make the best out of the situation or the worst out of it…
It’s the decisions we make that determine our fate.
We’ve decide to no longer to hide and believe in the lies, we are fed
We stand for the equality, woman rights.
[By: Lisa Brown | Title: Equality]
Words are just words until they are fused into your head and their words become your own.
I’m stupid, selfish.
It’s my own fault,
It took time for them to become recognized just like it took time for me to see what you truly are.
Physical abuse is all at once so unexpected I’m still in shock.
I crumple up my hands and attempt to push it away with humor but my hands are so swollen that no extent of force can take this pain away.
Then you did it again.
You grabbed all the nerves in my body and crushed them with your fist.
Suddenly my emotions became the bacteria that were immune to your vaccine.
You wouldn’t understand, would you?
“I’m doing this for you” you say.
This isn’t humane.
You think you’re saving me?
Father, you’ve killed me.
[By Lisa Brown | Title: You did it again]
Ladies of Legacy Edition
This Love Locked-Down | Ladies of Legacy [Issue 4]
Written By: AppreciateMan Editor
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