Khumbul'ekhaya (Remember Home) is a South African docu-reality television series produced by Urban Brew Studios that tracks the journeys of real South Africans who ask for help in their search to heal their relationships with lost or estranged family members.
The series premiered on SABC1 on Tuesday 28 November 2006, at 21h00. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 12 premiered on SABC1 on Wednesday 13 February 2013, at 21h00. New episodes broadcast weekly. There are 26 episodes in the twelfth season.
Synopsis
Khumbul'ekhaya is a family docu-reality series that tracks the journeys of real South Africans who ask Khumbul'ekhaya for help in their search to heal their relationships with lost or estranged family members.
The Khumbul'ekhaya team helps real people put the pieces of their family lives back together again.
Khumbul'ekhaya is a locally-developed, social reality series focusing on tracing long lost relatives, finding estranged family members and healing long standing feuds that have caused rifts and pain in families. The programme's family stories are sourced from all over South Africa.
One of the key reasons for commissioning the initial series was to mark 10 years of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. And, many later, the thrust of the stories told still entrench the values of forgiveness and reconciliation.
The themes in the show are often directly linked with the country's Apartheid past, the healing of our nation, poverty and constructing sustainable, strong, functional families.
These themes include the stories of: migrant labourers who left many years ago for cities and are still yearned for by off-spring; family members who have been out of touch for many years; quests for identity and asking questions as to who one is, in relation to family; and families seeking closure from bereavement and death.
Other themes include political conflict that besieged our societies during the Apartheid years; stories of returning exiles; healing sibling rivalry; people who are lost; families who are torn apart by anger and pain – often including abuse of - children, women and the elderly.
Khumbul'ekhaya is also educational - each show consists of two stories which hope to get viewers reflecting on their own family relationships and being moved to implement positive change in their own home.
The aim of Khumbul'ekhaya is to show how through reconciliation and forgiveness we can heal broken relationships in our families.
Seasons
Series exclusive to SABC1
Season 1 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 28 November 2006 | Finale: 20 February 2007 | Tuesdays, 21h00
Season 2 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 27 February 2007 | Finale: 22 May 2007 | Tuesdays, 21h00
Season 3 (26 episodes)
Premiere: 7 November 2007 | Finale: 30 April 2008 | Wednesdays, 21h00
Season 4 (26 episodes)
Premiere: 27 August 2008 | Finale: 18 February 2009 | Wednesdays, 21h00
Season 5 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 2 December 2009 | Finale: 24 February 2010 | Wednesdays, 21h00
Season 6 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 16 February 2011 | Finale: 11 May 2011 | Wednesdays, 21h00
Season 7 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 18 May 2011 | Finale: 17 August 2011 | Wednesdays, 21h00
Season 8 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 24 August 2011 | Finale: 16 November 2011 | Wednesdays, 21h00
Season 9 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 23 November 2011 | Finale: 15 February 2012 | Wednesdays, 21h00
Season 10 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 30 May 2012 | Finale: 22 August 2012 | Wednesdays, 21h00
Season 11 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 29 August 2012 | Finale: 16 January 2013 | Wednesdays, 21h00
Season 12 (26 episodes)
Premiere: 13 February 2013 | Finale: 7 August 2013 | Wednesdays, 21h00