Smeek vir Reën deur Marthie Nel Hauptfleisch – Smeek vir reen in Sutherland en Die Kaap

I thought I would share my story with you. I lived in Canada for ten years and returned to South Africa- now it is my passion to contribute to society through songwriting. This drought project is close to my heart. Especially because the child who was born in Canada wrote the press release for me before he left for Plett Rage: ten years abroad, ten years back Who knew?!- we all have a role to play in whatever little way possible…

When thinking about South Africa it is hard to ignore that with our amazing warm weather comes the opportunity for drought. We in the Western Cape are far too familiar with drought and how it can affect our communities after the Day Zero scare of 2018 but the people of Sutherland in the Northern Cape could only have hoped their drought only lasted a year.

The track “Smeek vir Reën” aims to raise awareness about the drought that has plagued the sheep farmers of Sutherland for the past 7 years and ultimately forms a way for those affected to try and express the hardships they face on a day to day basis through the medium of music. The song’s origin stems from a farmer’s wife in Sutherland, who wishes to remain anonymous, who came forward with lyrics that I was asked to put to music for this awareness campaign. The track is a call for unity within the Western Cape and within the greater South Africa to stand by the people of Sutherland and to support them in any way they can through : raising awareness and letting them know that they are heard and not forgotten