A small home-grown company that has been through a number of incarnations during its ten year existence and even now continues to change on a monthly basis, after all change is good and keeps us all on our toes!

In fact, in our wildest dreams we picture our company being at the centre of global African language teaching and research, having important conferences at swish hot-springs resorts and throwing lavish, but still entirely within budget, parties. And all our friends will be invited!

Tessa Dowling Company Director & Language Expert Tessa Dowling who has a PhD in African Languages from UCT, taught Xhosa for many years at the University of Cape Town. She has written numerous second-language texts, had an hilarious regular column in the Sunday Independant newspaper and is an inspiring and highly successful Xhosa teacher of note, whose pupils range from 5 year olds to Mayors, as well as everyone inbetween. With a fluent knowledge of a number of African languages, she is the quintessential African Voice! Her endeavours have led her back to a full-time post at UCT as adjunct professor in African Languages - we know she is going to shake things up there as needed.

Lona Qubathi Lona Qubathi comes from Slovo Park township in Umtata in the Eastern Cape. She has done several jobs since arriving in Cape Town including selling amagwinya (delicious Xhosa vetkoek), packing fish and cleaning at the Railway House restaurant. This is where she was "talent-spotted" by Tessa who noticed the sparkle and determination of this intelligent young woman. At African Voices she is responsible for packaging and posting and is also learning a lot about the general administration of the office. She has two children, one boy and a girl. We are delighted to have her with us and she has already proved herself invaluable in the office. Two of Lona's big ambitions are to create extra income by setting up her own sewing business and also to learn how to become a potter.

Margaret Howie - as part-time office manager, Margaret has moved in to assist us in keeping things running smoothly in the office since the departure of Liz.

SOME GOOD FRIENDS

Liz Lett - our office manager, book keeper and faithful associate of many years. Liz has moved on to a full-time post at UCT - we will always miss her.

Paul Wise - freelance editor and partner of Tessa. In fact he does all our editing work for free or a free lunch at least. His mother was Greek so he makes delicious moussaka, spanakopita and pumpkin pies.

Derek Gowlett This brilliant and urbane scholar of African languages is co-author with Khethiwe Ngwenya of our "Speak Zulu With Us" CD-ROMs as well as a number of important academic publications (see under product credits). Derek is so humble and self-effacing you have to invite him to a really long and lazy summer lunch to get him to tell his hilarious stories of linguistic research in Africa. Once he was visiting our offices at the same time as a linguist from Zambia. "Are you THE Derek Gowlett of the Lozi dictionary?" exclaimed the linguist, "I am honoured to meet you!" Besides this, Derek knows a great deal about European languages, music and art - he ran the Gowlett Gallery in Cape Town - and can also cook divinely and clean a toilet to meet Scottish hygiene standards (having studied hotel management in Scotland).

Kobus Steyn - Kobus Steyn, Derek's partner and a beloved friend of African Voices, is an opera singer, estate agent, interior designer and artist, but dismisses all these achievements modestly. His hugely approachable and engaging personality means he is so well liked people tell him their deepest secrets. But, "believe you me", to use one of his favourite expressions, he keeps everything he hears close to his chest.

Nosipho Tshabane - friend of African Voices and freelancer. Does excellent Xhosa translations, and makes beautiful skirts using traditional German print. Her charming, traditionally dressed door-stopper dolls, made out of old Coke-bottles, even wear broekies (underpants).

Nkululeko Mabandla, Katy Cornwell and Dr Ana Deumert interviewing in Willowvale, Eastern Cape.

Nkululeko Mabandla - this actor/director and former freedom fighter is both urbane and homely. He translates superbly into Xhosa and conducts surveys with huge intelligence. He even managed to find something in common with Tessa's mother: "Hey, man, we both went to war when we were seventeen!"

Nelisa Sipamla - when this Xhosa expert visits, the whole house booms with her laugh. In fact, even if she were telling you about her ingrowing toenail she would laugh. This campaigner for the rights of African languages has the kind of velvet voice that could sell anything from expensive cars to air-fresheners.

Tracey Whitelaw of Aardvark Press - off-beat, dynamic ("I don't know why my cell phone is ringing all the time, should I answer it?") and referred to as one of South Africa's funkiest new publishers. We love Tracey, director and owner of Aardvark Press. She publishes really useful South African books (check out her website on www.aardvarkpress.co.za), gives us great business advice and supplies us with excellent dark chocolate, but doesn't mind eating avocado pear on toast for lunch, or listening to our current obsession with the letter K in the Xhosa dictionary.

SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO SEPARATE OUR CLIENTS FROM OUR FRIENDS

Prof. Brett Inder interviewing in Willowvale, Eastern Cape.

Prof Brett Inder and Dr Ana Deumert of Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, are two of our favourites. They are researching "Migration and Social Protection Needs in South Africa" - check out their webpage for details of this study. Here is a photo taken while interviewing people in Willowvale, Eastern Cape, in November 2004.

Keith Langenhoven, Zubeida Desai and Gasant Gamiet

Associate Professor Zubeida Desai is in the Department of Linguistics at the University of the Western Cape. One of African Voices' brightest students and a luminary in the field of mother-tongue education, Zubeida can be seen here with fellow Xhosa learners Keith Langenhoven and Gasant Gamiet.

Tessa with Deidre Adams, Irefaan Batchelor, Mumsy Mthabini, Andre Baard and Carel Morren

The Forensic Chemistry Laboratory staff are sadly no longer students of ours, but we spent a wonderful three years together. Here they are, having just produced a full-length Xhosa play.