In January 2003 I was made redundant from my job in London. It came as a complete shock – I hadn’t realized how much the ripple effects of 9/11 would eventually catch up with me. I started job hunting, but in a depressed market there wasn’t much I found exciting.

A few months later, I decided to return to South Africa to see what options were available. It took me six weeks to pack up. I arrived back on my home turf in sheer trepidation of what was to come. After all, it had been 15 years since I left home to see the world, and I was returning to an entirely different South Africa.

Within three days I was offered three different jobs. I started working in call centre operations immediately. It wasn’t my intention to hit the ground running, but in less than a week, I was already proving the doomsayers wrong. Me, a white person, landed a job without much effort at all.

A few months after arriving, I met Angel Jones, the founder of the Homecoming Revolution, who had started her own advertising agency Morris Jones after living abroad for seven years. I heard about her initiative – to help South Africans who lived abroad get reacquainted with their home country – when the launch email landed in my inbox while I was packing up in London. I knew then she would be someone I wanted to connect with on my return. We met for lunch a month after I returned and I told her my story, and she offered up her vision of Homecoming Revolution. 

A lot of her plans matched my skill set – in London I had worked for 3 years marketing a concierge service and over 10 years in the retail sector – and I wrote up a business plan on how she could take the organization to the next level. While Angel worked on the funding, I continued my job with the call centre. A year later, in April 2004, Angel phoned to say that she had secured a serious backer with FNB. Would I, she asked, be interested in coming to run the organization? I jumped at the opportunity. It was exactly the sort of position that would allow me to make real change in my country; an opportunity to make a serious, tangible impact on the future that no job in London could ever compare.

For the past four years I have been on the most incredible journey watching our little movement truly become a homecoming revolution. It has made me realize how much we have to be grateful for. Like many in the privileged class in South Africa, I lived a very sheltered life growing up. I didn’t pay that much attention to the country and world around me, and yet when I now look at where we, as a nation, have come from and what we have achieved in such a short time, I cannot believe what a privilege it is to be part of creating our country’s proud future.

So much of my strength and passion comes from the stories that the homecomers inspire. These people have lived where the grass is meant to be greener and have chosen to return home, to the greenest grass. Recently, I had breakfast with a homecomer who came back after 15 years in France with her French husband and their two young children. It was fascinating to see how passionate both she and her husband were about being in SA. They loved spending time with her family, exploring all the outdoor pursuits in great weather and both shifting careers. He had just formed part of the visiting French Presidential delegation and was setting up a French media business here. This was something that would never have been on his radar screen if he was still living in France. She has a very exciting position in one of SA’s biggest corporations. Their children speak three languages – English, French and Sotho and they are both under 5. Gerald returned from the UK, 6 months ago after 4 years. He had completely cut his ties with the country in that time after 3 incidents which had forced him to leave. He returned to set up a business which is already employing 300 people. Gavin, a young single guy who left to live in Australia with his entire family over 7 years ago, has also chosen to return because he believes the opportunities here are too great to ignore. He is working in Investment Banking.  Ryk Neethling, Olympic Gold Medallist and Homecoming Revolution Ambassador returned after many years in the USA. He says “The only regret I have is not returning sooner.”

Living abroad gives you a perspective you don’t necessarily have if you have never had the opportunity to leave – something the entire global citizenship is doing more and more of as our world continues to shrink. Leaving where you are gives you a special gift. It makes you realize that what we have really is unique. There is an energy that flows throughout our country that you just don’t find anywhere else in the world.  Every country has their problems – just ask any American who is sunk deep in their sub-prime crisis and the more than 200 000 British people that left their homeland last year for reasons like crime, liberal immigration laws and declining health care systems – and leaving South Africa, especially when it’s for good, is very often about changing one set of problems for a different set. 

The first three months of 2008, smack dab in the midst of the power crisis, has been the most challenging for us as an organization. For the doomsayers who visit our popular blog (homecomingrevolution.co.za gets more than 15 000 visitors every month) this has been what they have been waiting for. They happily say “I told you so” smugly from their homes across the seas. But what’s kind of sad is that they really haven’t let go of this country. They spend so much of their free time trawling South African websites and complaining, almost as if they have to justify their reasons for leaving by voicing all that’s wrong. If you have chosen to leave, whatever your reasons, and I know they must have been difficult ones, remember South Africa fondly. It provided you with so much of who you are today.

I am often accosted by people in restaurants, social gatherings, at corporate lunches or government events, who ask me to provide them with positive stories about this country – and it’s not difficult for me to do. All I do is tell them about those who have returned and those who are continuing to return. I spread the word about homecomers and what they have done since they have been back. How, in this country, their career has been fast-tracked, about their new businesses which have grown beyond their wildest dreams, about how they are able to spend so much more time with their family or in nature than their lives overseas had ever allowed. And, yes, I take offense when those very people who are asking tell me no-one must be coming home, mostly because when I try and explain that, even in these tough times, people are returning, they don’t actually want to hear what I have to say. They have already made up their minds. 

I’m not naïve. I don’t have my head buried in the sand. I know we have serious crime issues, that the power crisis is deeply concerning and that our political turmoil is disconcerting. But I just look at things from a more balanced perspective. I do my best to infuse others with my passion and to show both sides of the story. 

We keep comparing ourselves to Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA. These are all developed countries. We are a developing country, and it’s impossible to measure up to the advancements that the developed world has on offer. We have so much to be proud of in the short time that we have become an inclusive democracy. The fact is there has been little bloodshed over our major political transition, more people are getting housing and services, our constitution is the most advanced in the world and our economy has preformed against all odds. It’s time to recognize the great achievements that are being made in our country each and everyday. There is a reason that South Africa is loved by the rest of the world – and it’s not just the sunshine. Tickets for Homecoming Revolution are available on www.satickets.co.uk

HOMECOMING TESTIMONIAL

Mike McLeon - I lived in England for just over 6 years, before redundancy in the UK gave me the opportunity, and family circumstances the reason to return to South Africa, though not to Cape Town where I was born, but to Johannesburg.

The biggest hurdle was always going to be finding a job, but with management experience and a CIMA qualification I was confident of sorting something.
Most recruitment agencies in SA would only consider talking to me once I was back in the country, but I managed to make contact directly with two companies who wanted to interview me. Through telephonic and video conference interviewing I managed to get offers of employment from both companies, even before I had set foot out of London. To me that was the Golden Fleece.

I would strongly advise anyone to try to get work secured before arriving back, or as soon after as you can. It has only been because I have a written copy of my Letter of Appointment that I have been able to set up my bank accounts, mobile phone contract and a variety of life’s other little essentials. A South African credit card style driver’s licence is still a very tricky thing to get.

Yes the taxis still have their own set of driving laws, and yes you can find yourself easily bound in the red tape of bureaucracy, and yes I have to leave home at 6:30 every morning to avoid ridiculous traffic, but every morning I drive to my office under a red African sun rise and beautiful blue skies. You cannot compare one with the other, as they are so different, but right now I call South Africa home.

HOMECOMING  Interview

I found my dream job... in Johannesburg

Mark Kirkness is a civil engineer and he returned home after working in London for 8 years to take up a position at Africon (Pty) Ltd in Johannesburg.

What first motivated you to move back to South Africa?
My fiancé is an economist and spends most of her time working on Africa, so when we started thinking seriously about coming home she was well positioned to hear about events that were able to assist people who wanted to come back, and that was essentially where it started.

What types of jobs were you looking for?
I am a civil engineer, so I was looking in the civil construction industry.

Why did you think that those types of jobs would be available?
I had an idea that the industry was short of people because it is generally short of qualified people all over the world. I wasn’t too worried about finding work, but I was not exactly sure how I would be able to find it.

And how did you hear about Careers in Africa?
I went to an African networking event about 6 months before the Careers in Africa Summit which showed that coming home was a real possibility. But the question remained: were people able to go home with good jobs? Careers in Africa answered that question as they have people out there recruiting for great positions, advising on what opportunities are available and enabling you to make a decision going forward.

What happened next?
I went to the Careers in Africa website and filled in an online application which was very easy to do. The application was successful and I got lots of feedback during the selection process. The Global Career Company staff communicated back to me regularly so I knew the status of my application, the communication was really excellent.

How many interviews did you have during the Summit? And why did you choose Africon?
I had three interviews, and chose Africon because it ticked all the boxes for me. They were able to accommodate exactly where I wanted to live, offer me the training that I was looking for and the career that I wanted to pursue. Africon definitely stood out above the rest.Did they assist with relocation?
Yes they relocated my fiancé and me, paid for our flights and furniture, they also organised a car for us for the first month which was very helpful.

How is your job at Africon?
The job is fantastic and I don’t think I could have found a better job. It’s really worked out well for me. I’m based where I want to be. I couldn’t be happier.

What are your plans for the future?
To stick with it here and keep going. Working for a big company, I’m really happy. I can see career prospects; I’m going forward more here than if I had been anywhere else.

Did you have any perceptions of South Africa before you moved back?
Not really as although I had been out of South Africa for 8 years, I had been going home every year for various family events, etc. I had always kept contact with South Africa. The heart is always there.

How have you found it since being back?
I am really really enjoying it. I haven’t regretted coming home at all. Society is much better integrated than it used to be. Jobs are available out there if you’ve got the relevant qualifications. After working in London for 8 years, I’m really enjoying being in the sunshine again.

Would you recommend going back to friends?
Some friends have come back before me. I do encourage people to come home. I think it’s a great place to be. I find people over here to be much friendlier, much easier to talk to. I’ve had a lot of positive experiences since coming home.

What about the negative portrayals of South Africa in the media?
The media will always perceive things a bit negatively, if you read the bad press in other countries you realise that every country has its own problems.

How did you find the whole experience of moving back?
Much better than expected. The move went really smoothly. It’s really reassuring to be coming back to a job. I was able to start work immediately and already start earning money.

And how have you found the experience on a personal level?
There’s a lot of personal gain by coming back to your family again. It’s nice to be in a country that you know. When you go to a foreign country as much as you try to integrate, you never fully do. It’s nice to be back in a country that’s yours.

What advice would you give to someone considering applying for Careers in Africa?
The biggest thing to remember when you apply is that companies are serious about recruiting people. So you must make sure before you go that you know what you want, where you want to be, and make sure that you’re honest with those companies. You will find after the Summit that things move very quickly. So when a company puts an offer on the table, you should know whether you are ready to make that step.