Dopamine Dialogues: Sarika Richard

If you would like to support / donate please visithttps://techmyschool.org/donate/or contact TechMySchool [email protected]: TechMySchoolhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/robertcobbs/https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-sumrow-869516183/In this episode, I sit down with Robby Cobbs and Kyle Sumrow from TechMySchool, two humanitarian entrepreneurs whose lives are defined by service, sacrifice, and purpose. With backgrounds as teachers and years of experience serving across the globe, including Africa, they bring a rare blend of heart and vision to the work of education.Robby’s journey began during a sabbatical in Puerto Rico, where he witnessed firsthand how under‑resourced the schools were, including those his own children attended. In a moment of conviction, he gave up his boat savings to seed what would become TechMySchool. Kyle, aligned in mission from Texas, joined him and together they’ve built an organisation now reaching over 40 schools, impacting 5,000 students every day, and empowering 500 teachers each month.Their philosophy is simple yet profound: technology holds no bias. It is the bridge across inequality, and they are determined to make that bridge accessible to every child and teacher they encounter.This conversation humbled me deeply. We explore how Robby’s upbringing in adversity, abuse, and poverty shaped his resilience and drive to give back, and how both he and Kyle embody what it means to live in alignment with purpose, sacrificing personal comfort for the greater good.It’s a story of courage, conviction, and the belief that education, when resourced with dignity, can transform lives.

Breaking moulds, building mountains of courage.In the Spirit of honouring the African women that are Building, I could not have run the series without doing this episode with my Mum, Mama, Mamzo. She has and continues to Build a Legacy of Grace & Strength and is not afraid to challenge the perceptions, templates and conditioning that many women continue to face. I am proud to be her daughter. In this powerful episode of She Builds Mnandi, Dr. Vanita Richard shares her extraordinary journey. From growing up as an Indian woman in apartheid South Africa, to becoming a teacher of Home Economics for High Schools in Lenasia, meeting her husband, and stepping into activism with courage and conviction. Moving from Teaching into Matthew Goniwe, Pilo and working with and being inspired by Prof. Mary Metcalfe. She reflects on the challenges of raising a family while standing up for truth and justice, and the profound losses she has endured, including the sudden passing of her husband (Benjamin Richard) in May 2024 and losing both of her sons to mental illness (suicide). At 73, she climbed to Everest Base Camp, with my Dad's ashes, embodying resilience and the unbreakable spirit that has carried her through a lifetime of struggle and triumph. This conversation is a testament to legacy, courage, and the power of living one’s truth no matter which chapter in life you find yourself in. #ForLegacy #ForMum #ForDad #forAllComrades #SouthAfrica #apartheid #Sophiatown #Lenasia #Lens #SADTU #PTL #BeingIndian

Breaking moulds, building mountains of courage.In the Spirit of honouring the African women that are Building, I could not have completed the series without doing this episode with my Mum, Mama, Mamzo. She has and continues to Build a Legacy of Grace & Strength and is not afraid to challenge the perceptions, templates and conditioning that many women continue to face. I am proud to be her daughter. In this powerful episode of She Builds Mnandi, Dr. Vanita Richard shares her extraordinary journey. From growing up as an Indian woman in apartheid South Africa, to becoming a teacher of Home Economics for High Schools in Lenasia, meeting her husband, and stepping into activism with courage and conviction. Moving from Teaching into Matthew Goniwe, Pilo and working with and being inspired by Prof. Mary Metcalfe. She reflects on the challenges of raising a family while standing up for truth and justice, and the profound losses she has endured, including the sudden passing of her husband (Benjamin Richard) in May 2024 and losing both of her sons to mental illness (suicide). At 73, she climbed to Everest Base Camp, with my Dad's ashes, embodying resilience and the unbreakable spirit that has carried her through a lifetime of struggle and triumph. This conversation is a testament to legacy, courage, and the power of living one’s truth no matter which chapter in life you find yourself in. #ForLegacy #ForMum #ForDad #forAllComrades #SouthAfrica #apartheid #Sophiatown #Lenasia #Lens #SADTU #PTL #BeingIndian

In this episode, we sit with Lungile Maile—Nubian Smarts founder, EdTech innovator, and fierce advocate for Africa’s children as tech creators, not just consumers. Lungile’s work through Nubian Smarts is reshaping how under-served communities engage with STEAM (A for Art yay) education, from culinary coding and VR classrooms to AI hackathons, and AI-powered WhatsApp tools for teachers, parents and Business Operations - especially Manufacturing. We explore the soul behind the software: how Lungile blends manufacturing grit with ancestral vision, how she builds playful yet powerful learning experiences, and why democratizing tech is a spiritual and strategic act. This conversation is a call to educators, parents, business owners, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and dreamers—to co-create a continent where innovation is local, joyful, and radically inclusive.Lungile Maile Nubian Smarts contact details:Mobile: +27 73 748 3166 (South Africa)Email: [email protected]: https://www.instagram.com/lungi_maile?igsh=MTNyNzRsOHB0b3czcg==

She Builds Mnandi is a series honouring and showcasing African female entrepreneursMy first guest for the series is Carmen Ely, Founder of of Play With Me ZA. Carmen created her boutique intimacy shop in Johannesburg to empower women through sensual self-awareness—born from her own journey of reclaiming pleasure after a few painful and healing life experiences. Play With Me ZA isn’t just a sex shop—it’s a feminine, elegant, and emotionally intelligent space that invites women to explore intimacy with grace and curiosity.Come and play with us In this evocative episode, as I sit down with Carmen—entrepreneur, sensuality guide, and cultural disruptor—for a raw and reverent exploration of pleasure, reclamation, and radical intimacy. What begins as a story of personal transformation unfolds into a layered reflection on Carmen’s divorce, her struggle to prioritise her own pleasure, and the unexpected evolution of her adult toy store into a healing sanctuary.Carmen shares how her business became less about products and more about the deep, vulnerable conversations with clients—conversations that helped them confront shame, guilt, and cultural conditioning around sexuality. Now, she’s expanding into the creation of dungeon spaces: intentional, consent-based environments that honour kink, edge-play, and the full spectrum of erotic expression.Throughout the episode, Carmen gently invites listeners to dip their toes into their own edges—to explore the blocks, beliefs, and inherited scripts that shape their relationship to intimacy. For her, communication is the cornerstone of any erotic or emotional connection. It’s not just about what we do, but how we speak, listen, and co-create safety.This episode invites listeners to meet themselves at the edge—where curiosity becomes courage, and healing begins with truth.How to reach Carmen Ely and Play with Me.ZAhttps://www.instagram.com/playwithmeza/https://playwithme.co.za/?srsltid=AfmBOoqRVpFGdlsoO0YkrKHaoZKaxi0I7T2e39JpHJux2ZnLADyEsKgB