How 25 years goes by so quickly – in April 1994, I was two years into my job as a mining engineer located near the town of Carletonville at the Elandsrand Gold Mine, working for Anglo Gold and Uranium Mining Division (now AngloGold Ashanti).

It was a time and location of mixed emotions; Elandsrand Gold Mine and the mine village were relatively more progressive compared to other locations in terms of race relations, so given the location the excitement of the impending change following the elections conflicted with anxiety over the same change.

Being young and amongst the first few black mining engineers to obtain blasting certificates I was hopeful for a prosperous career in mining. Twenty-five years later I can say, "been there done that plus some", and I often wonder how my life would have turned out if it was not for the striving and desire for liberation and transformation.