Interviewing Riefkah Adams, project manager at Flow Communications, is more like catching up with a long-lost friend than chatting to a new colleague. She exudes positive energy about life – not at all in general, but in engrossing detail.
Riefkah has lived all her life with a view of one of the New7Wonders of Nature – Table Mountain. But in the past two weeks she has organised – and experienced – a total change of life and scenery: she is now based at Flow’s Johannesburg office.
“I was afraid of change,” she says, “but look what happened: from the kiddie pool to diving into the deep end.” As an aside she adds: “This woman, she’s got balls!”
Here are a few of her activities of the past fortnight: she left Flow Communications in Cape Town; organised a wedding contract according to Shariah law at an attorney; completed the South African legal marriage requirements; attended their nikah (the sacred wedding ceremony at Masjid Al Furqaan, the Islamia Mosque); received the mahr (dowry); and celebrated their walima (wedding feast).
She then moved to Johannesburg, cooked for and celebrated Eid, and started working at Flow Jozi.
Says writer Stuart Buchanan, a colleague of Riefkah’s at the Cape Town office: “Shew, we really feel her absence. She was super in all sorts of ways. Not only did she help with project management, but she jumped in and developed content for blogs, social media and just everything that was needed at the office in general.”
Riefkah says of Flow: “It is such a great company to work for. Lovely people, great clients and I have the chance to be creative.” Have a look at a few of the blog posts Riefkah has written:
- Table Mountain welcomes the first day of spring
- Flickr – Cableway’s annual maintenance nearing its end
- Ramadan in the Cape
Riefkah’s journey with Flow started in October 2013 as an intern, just after she completed her studies at Northlink College and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (where she attained a BTech in marketing). The clients and projects she has been involved with since then are the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, the Two Oceans Aquarium, StellenBlog and South African Tourism. Since March 2014 she has been in a permanent position as project manager.
Her name means “satisfaction, companionship, blessing”, and Flow is witness to how Riefkah lives up to her name. Her fellow project managers, Kat Fouché, Gianluca Tucci and Thabs Royds, sing her praises.
“She’s warm. She’s involved. She complements the team. And she sneezes like a mouse,” says Kat. Thabs adds: “It feels as if she’s been here forever!” Gianluca is more philosophical: “She already has the Flow DNA.” And, as Caroline Smith, head of Flow PR, says: “Once a Flowstar, always a Flowstar!”
Dear Riefkah, we wish the sweetness, benefits and blessings of honey to you and brand-new husband Saleem, here in our golden city.