PickleballSOUTH AFRICA
AGLITTERATI FROM JOBURG
An emerging oasis in the middle of nowhere ? My interest was piqued . Pule Setai was taking me to Memel , where his Drakensberg Club was buying land and building houses 2½ hours south of Johannesburg International
Airport in the footsteps of a retired American couple .
We arrived in Memel with my wife and 4-year-old son , and oh , what an incredible place ! Kids and workers were playing pickleball ! Intergenerational and even interclass . The workers and the boss were all laughing and enjoying this amazing sport . I was blown away .
The sport is quite intuitive and within a short time even I was playing pickleball !
My name is Lucky Litelu , founder of a Johannesburg think tank to transition young South Africans from being job seekers to job creators , an innovative African Startup Business Campus offering studio space for new ventures , incubation , access to finance , and mentorship .
Pickleball was my entry to the www . Memel . Global array of programs : physical books in libraries ; organic gardening ; music & drama ; appropriate architecture ; sanitary pads to keep girls in school . It was as if I could perceive a roadmap of how prior visitors , donors , and volunteers had left a trail of kindness and expertise .
We encountered synergy after synergy with the goals our Industrial Clusters Research and Development Group ( ICRD ) aspires to , boosting young people and developing leadership . We saw a temporary evaporation of race and class we had only dreamed of previously .
Could we become part of that invisible trail being left behind to make this a better place ?
Lo and behold , we ended our year by taking the ICRD team there for an excursion . Oh , what an incredible time ! To just be in
By LUCKY LITELU with STEVEN ABLONDI
WWW . MEMEL . GLOBAL
Memel , playing pickleball . We had a Pickleball Olympics that brought fun and so many opportunities to exchange and connect . We saw social cohesion , experienced intercultural participation , and ate local cuisine . Steven showed us garden birds in this “ birdwatcher ’ s paradise .” It was a dream come true for our weeklong corporate retreat — not just to talk about , but to experience the power of ideas and the power of creative collaboration !
I reflect often on the essence of my experience in Memel and clearly understand Steven ’ s choice of company name , Memel . Global . “ Memel ” is their home in Africa . “ Global ” is the whole world , and they ( and now all of us ) are the dot that connects . Memel . Global needs and deserves “ bigger wings ”… more capacity , more scaling up .
I want to encourage international donors and investors that this is a golden opportunity to be part of something and to make a difference . Young people in Memel once despaired that they were in a community without opportunity . Now some have become provincial champion athletes , one is a chef in a worldclass restaurant , another an engineer . Some will emerge as the pickleball stars of tomorrow . I want a part of it !
I ’ m all in , and my team is enthusiastically all in with me . •
Lucky ’ s wife , Azwi ( left ), a television actress , in the Memel Organics garden with Sandra , one of the area ’ s best female pickleball players .
Lucky Litelu , a Johannesburg influencer , entrepreneur , strategist and investor , and founder of the Industrial Clusters Research and Development Group .
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