People
Wrapping the Gift of Compassion
For each and every person I’ve met along this way that started as mere curiosity— May goodness, mercy and grace be with you always. - Tshego Khatri
The Selves of Us
where our shared stories live
MaytheyholdupmirrorsforustotrulyseehowalllifeonthisbeautifulEarthisconnected.
— Tshego Khatri, The Selves of Us
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From the Archive
Words from the Archive
A child who cannot read is not less — they are simply waiting for someone to open the right door.Words of Waking — Tshego Khatri
The Listening Room · Coming Soon
A podcast where every conversation
is also literature.
Slow, honest conversations about healing, culture, and identity — recorded as audio you can sit with, and rewritten as essays you can read. The first episodes are on their way.
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Why Human Writing Still Matters
The internet is drowning in AI-generated content. Optimised for algorithms. Written for no one. We built this platform for a different kind of reader — one who is tired of celebrity noise, clickbait headlines, and words far removed from the realities of their own life.
Every piece on The Selves of Us is written by a human being who lived through something. Tshego Khatri sat in a rehabilitation centre in Southernwood and listened to Yolisa talk about learning to trust again after losing her sight. Roy Hewett spent 17¾ years in a principal's office watching South Africa from the inside. These are not content pieces. They are acts of witness.
You can tell the difference. So can we.
The Collective
This Week's Prompt
“Who taught you something important without knowing they were teaching you?”
— Tshego Khatri
Write Your MirrorRecent Reflections
“Hi Tshego, Impressive research and a very interesting, life-changing narrative. Disability lived experience! * Tales of resilience* Keep up the good work!”
Chipo
“As an advocate, realizing that there are so many voices standing up for disability just moved me. Disability is universal; not having disability is a temporary state that can change for anyone at any time. Whenever we can, let's create an inclusive society for all.”
Chipo
“Sad stories but realities of life. Got a bit emotional- Tsuna.”
Anonymous
The Ubuntu Pledge
“I am, because you are.”
Every time you read here, you hold up a mirror for someone else. Every mirror submitted is a letter back to humanity. This platform runs on that exchange.
Reader Reflections
Mirrors
Read something that moved you? Write back to it. 200 words. We publish the best.
“Hi Tshego, Impressive research and a very interesting, life-changing narrative. Disability lived experience! * Tales of resilience* Keep up the good work!”
“As an advocate, realizing that there are so many voices standing up for disability just moved me. Disability is universal; not having disability is a temporary state that can change for anyone at any time. Whenever we can, let's create an inclusive society for all.”
“Sad stories but realities of life. Got a bit emotional- Tsuna.”
““For me, mental disability is especially agonising because it doesn’t always wear a face that reveals exactly why some children are the way they are and that they are different at face value. So, it tends to be invisible”
These are the exact sentences I've been waiting for all my life. Tsuna·in response toWrapping the Gift of Compassion
Correspondence
Letters from
The Selves of Us
Not a newsletter. Correspondence. Tshego writes to you twice a month. Roy adds an editor's note. It arrives like a letter from someone who knows you.
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Ask anything. Find the piece that speaks to where you are right now. Keneilwe knows every story, every voice, every thread of healing in this archive.
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What has Tshego written about community in East London?
There are two pieces that go deep into East London community life — Beyond Sight visits REHAB in Southernwood where Yolisa, Shama and Mr Madliki are rebuilding their worlds, and Missing Sounds & Silent Worlds follows the Carel du Toit Centre. Both will change how you see your neighbours.