September 2019/Fairlady 13Homecoming Revolution’s
Angel Jones tells us about
the midlife crisis that
turned her NPO into a
moneymaking business,
the highs and lows ofRamaphoria and Nenegate,
and why she’snot here
for the moaners and
the pessimists.She knew that she was coming home. What she
didn’tknow was that it would become her life’swork
to bring others home too.
After seven years in the UK, Angel heeded
Madiba’scall. ‘A swithmostpeople,it was friends and
family that brought me back. But there was so much
else. Icouldn’tbelieve how big and blue the sky was,
even in the city.Iloved the way people looked you in
the eyes and greeted you.Ihear the term “ex-South
African”, and think, there’snos uch thing.You’re
still aSouth African wherever you are.’
Angel and her business partnerNinaMorrissetup
theirownagency,Morrisjones. In 2003, Morrisjones
launched the Homecoming Revolution brand,
sharing real, inspiring stories from South Africans
who had returned home, and encouraging others to
think about coming back to be part of the change
that was happening.
‘Wetoldpeople’sstories warts and all.We don’t
pretend everything is perfect here, but there’salot
that’sgood,’ says Angel. ‘My own experience made
me realise that the grass isn’tnecessarily greener
abroad. When you’ve seenabit of th eworld, you
realise that every country has its pros and cons.
‘Our message was, “Don’twait until it gets
better,come home andmakeit better”. The stats were
telling us that for every person returning home, 11
new jobs were provided. There wasaripple effect
in the formal and informalsector.Sowes aid,
“Comeandbuild.Createjobs. Youhave a
role to play.”’
Ashoutout from Thabo Mbeki in
his2004StateoftheNationAddress,
endorsing its importance in
reversing the braindrain,
broughtevenmoreattention,
and the stories started to
go viral.