Gavin Joachims

Publisher info

My name is Gavin Joachims. I am 42. In 2013 I resigned as National Director of Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE) - a land sector organisation. My words were calling me and I had to make space to fill my desire to write.

As a young child with curly black hair, my greatest excitement was the first time I wrote my name. In those early days, I strengthened my skill in writing, and till today have a beautiful handwriting. All I remember of then, was my play on words, and my sketches which I called, Scrapios. Two things I knew back then is that I will see my name in print, often, and that Scrapio would one day be a trademark on mine.

I was born in a small town called Ravensmead, 22km north-west of Cape Town. I am the third of four children (two brothers older and a beautiful sister, younger than me). I was gifted scholastically and from a young age was earmarked to be the doctor in the family. I guess being born a non-white under our South African Apartheid regime our parents did everything to push us into careers that were perceived as bringing not only financial success, but more so freedom. So although my parents acknowledged my gift for writing and storytelling, my successes in this field were never really encouraged. When I was 10 years old I won a National Poetry Competition and by time I was 16 my first collection of poems was submitted to a local publisher. This submission was not successful. I was told that I was too young. I think my disappointment was more felt by my mother for she knew, as now, of my first love: writing.

In 1989 I was accepted for a medical degree (MBChB) at University of Stellenbosch. I didn't "fit in" and the next year I enrolled for a Bachelor of Social Science at the University of Natal. I furthered my studies at the same institution with post-graduates in Sociological Theory and Research Methodology. Much later I enrolled for a Master Philosophy in Urban Infrastructure Design and Management at the University of Cape Town.

During my undergrad studies, I worked fulltime as a Restaurant Manager. I excelled at what I did and in my final year undergrad I was offered the post as Franchise Manager for the restaurant group. I remained with the company for 6 years and in this time many amazing people crossed my path.

As a child I had another very special gift. I was able to foresee things.

There were patrons at the restaurant that recognised this. Today many of them have passed on, yet their teaching and guidance remains with me. This was a part of my awakening; my understanding of things and of my writing and storytelling.

I moved on to other companies where my focus remained management and people development. Yet, my heart yearned to write.

In 2000, I went on a very special journey. It was a time of change for me. I left behind all my possessions and with R50 in my pocket I went hitchhiking for 5 months through five Southern African countries. I prayed much during that time. I left Mozambique two days before the devastating floods of 2000; I slept in squatter camps in some of the most dangerous townships; I hitched, alone, on dirt roads in the Okavango Delta region...all along writing, reading and talking to God.

I realised that poverty in South Africa was nothing compared to our neighbouring states. On my return to Cape Town, I founded a Street Children Project called, Swerwerskind. Through this multi-media approach I highlighted the need for alternative forms of education for street children. In this time, I trained in the film and photographic industry and I approached two photographers (one from France and one from Sweden) and a Cape Town-based German Film Producer to stage an exhibition of poetry, photography and film to make society conscious of the needs of the homeless, especially street children.

This work was well received and made real impact . The project (and i) were featured in Oprah Magazine, various national and international print and broadcast media, etc.

The City of Cape Town approached me in 2004 to implement a Social Development Strategy and Programme for the Cape metropole, through an institution called, Cape Town Central City Partnership (CTP). I did so successfully and in 2007 I left CTP and hosted a weekly Social Development Programme on a local radio station (Radio Goodhope FM), whilst focusing on social and community development projects at grassroots level.

In 2008, I was accepted for the post as Project Manager for the United National Development Programme working with the Limpopo Provincial Government. I loved this work. I felt as if I was back again hitchhiking through Africa. When another opportunity came early 2010 to work for a national land sector (rural) organisation I accepted the post as Deputy Director and a year later I was offered (and accepted) the post as National Director for TCOE.

In life, I've been fortunate to have travelled extensively. I've seen most parts of Brazil; I've been to Central America; I visited the USA thrice; I've been to Europe multiple times; I've been to north, east, west and central Africa - mostly loving meeting the people, sharing in their culture and listening; listening finely to the nuances and stories of their lives...my words.

Having said all this, I hope the one thing that shines through is my humility. And this is what I pray for, humble words, stilling to the soul. My most wonderful recent gifts have been the birth of my children: Hannah (6); Annie (3) and Zach (2). Not only have they made me see life in different ways, they have also rekindled my love for words.

As for my wife, Joy, she has laid waste the worst of me. For the first time in my life I not only acknowledge my faults and my weaknesses, but I am granted opportunity to work on these. Joy is my love and the deepest understanding of my soul.

Smashwords Interview

What is your writing process?
For me there are moments of flutter; when thoughts and images flash through me mind. These are thoughts I write down. I have many books with many of these thoughts which over time translate to poems, prose and stories. I love doing research and spend many hours researching content for my stories setting the background and factual tone for writing.
Since I was very young, I have also loved the play on words. I still have the Collier's Dictionaries which my dad gave me when I was 10 years old. I love searching the meaning of every word and although life has been made easy with "Google" and other search engines, I always turn back to my Colliers.
Much of what I write comes from Divine intervention. I do not question that I am merely a conduit for the words, the thoughts and stories which through me come to life. For this I am eternally grateful and ask that my words will always be humble.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
The first story I ever read was when I was 5 years old. It was a school book about a family. The book itself did not have much of an impact on me, yet it influenced my early writing.
I started writing when I was 5 years old. The very first poem I wrote was in Afrikaans, my mother tongue. It was titled: "Ek dink" (I think). Then we were living under an Apartheid regime in South Africa, and the first poem I wrote was about the wealth and the money I yearned for in life. Albeit, under Apartheid it was unlikely that this would ever happen, and my first school book depicted this: the happy white family with their cars, and their holidays by the sea, and the material possessions of white privileged children. And, although I had a very fortunate upbringing, I as a young child, thought that I would never amass the wealth I dreamed of. That is how my first poem ended. Years later I changed the ending to this poem and my perception of second-class non-white, to powerful man.
Read more of this interview.

Where to find Gavin Joachims online

Books

To: Oprah Winfrey, With Thanks
Price: $1.00 USD. Words: 16,040. Language: English. Published: May 21, 2020 . Categories: Fiction » Biographical
Thank you Oprah Winfrey for being an inspiration and for these words to you.
The Sands and My Dream (A Book of Blue Skies)
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 15,970. Language: English (South African dialect). Published: September 16, 2014 . Categories: Nonfiction » Inspiration » Spiritual inspiration
My name is Gavin Joachims. I asked my Creator for a miracle of words that will touch the hearts and lives of millions in a loving and beautiful way. Sitting on a rock on Cape Agulhas beach I thought: "What a beautiful setting for a miracle - the southernmost tip of Africa". There the Almighty spoke to me. It is there that this miracle, "The Sands and My Dream (A Book of Blue Skies)" was born.