SOMA Living March 2024

MEET THE MPANZA-WITJES FAMILY

Photography by Jamie Meier

The Mpanza-Witjes family’s story is a vivid mosaic of experiences that bridges continents and cultures. Kwanele, from South Africa, and Marieke, from the Netherlands, met in a unique encounter that blended their diverse backgrounds. Their life together, enriched by the birth of their children Sam (9), Ella (7), Lotte (5), and Fin (3), is a journey of mutual discovery and deepening connections. Their romance sparked at a fundraising event in 2012 in Soweto. Marieke was doing work in South Africa for consulting firm Kearney and Kwanele lived in Joburg. Kwanele recalls, “Serendipity? The Universe? Marieke was about to return to Amsterdam, when her colleagues asked her to stay for the weekend and volunteer at a local charity event, where I happened to be a board member, but almost couldn’t attend that year.” The rest quickly became history when Kearney asked Marieke to relocate to Johannesburg a few months later. By 2015, now parents to Sam, they embarked on a new chapter, spurred by another job opportunity for Marieke that led them to NYC. Before settling in, they journeyed across Southern Africa, a memorable adventure from Namibia on the Atlantic West coast through several African countries touching tropical Mozambique on the East coast. Arriving at JFK with a few suitcases, two bikes, and a baby. They quickly found their footing, starting in an AirBnB in BedStuy before moving to Park Slope, where Kwanele connected with other stay-at home dads, and started a career in real estate.

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