Cascoland Journal

Tuesday 21 February

Before 24-year-old Randall Wyngaard, living in Mitchell’s Plain, came to help Alison and John at their animation workshop in New Crossroads, he already had some experience with animation. Sitting outside the Mayenzeke Centre he relates his Cascoland experience.

`Cascoland is not my first opportunity to broaden my horizon. Some time back I wanted to go to University to study animation. The problem was the tuition. I don´t come from a privileged family so I couldn´t afford it. That didn´t make me give up my dream. Instead I opted for a basic animation course of three months. In that time I was part of a team that made a few public service announcements about HIV awareness and anti smoking with Paradox Animation in Cape Town. They saw my potential and said I could stay on for one more year.´

Working with foreigners like John and Alison has been something new for me. Seeing how they do things and how they think has been very interesting. It is very easy to have prejudiced thoughts about people you don´t know. Some say that Australians are rude, Nigerians are this and that, and so forth. The best thing however is to relate to them and find out.´

´John and Alison have helped me a lot. Some friends of mine were saying, you must be earning a lot of money working with Europeans. But I told them it was not about money, that it is about learning more skills. Then they said I was stupid but I don´t think so. I have a clear plan for my life. I might not have reached it quite yet, but I really believe I will get there.´

´Working with the children of New Crossroads has really been an eye opener for me. It gives me a good feeling to do something for the community. At the same time I learned a lot for myself. This experience with John and Alison has really pushed me further. It has broadened my view on everything. My next goal is to invest in a camera and to continue in animations. I know I will succeed.´

Randall helping out at the animation workshops

Randall lettering