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BY Nkosazana Ngwadla

Philippi resident Sindeka Mandoyi started the Chosi-chosi book club in 2019 to share her passion for reading.

Every Saturday a small shack in Philippi, Cape Town, is brought to life with the sound of children’s laughter as they are read books from fairytales to stories with arithmetic.

Mandoyi, 29, founded the Chosi-chosi Book Club in Philippi in 2019. In isiXhosa, chosi-chosi is usually how someone would begin telling a story — the equivalent of “once upon a time”.

The book club meets every Saturday between noon and 2pm in a small shack just a few metres from her home. Mandoyi, who works as a marketing writer, says she started the book club because she wanted to share her love of reading with the young children in Philippi.

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“I love books. Growing up, just like now, there are no book clubs in the township. Hearing that children can’t read for meaning cannot be taken lightly. I couldn’t just sit and watch, especially knowing that there is something that I can do about it. So that is how the book club started,” Mandoyi said.

The shack that Mandoyi uses belongs to the parent of one of her book club members. “It’s been quite difficult getting a proper space. Ideally, I would like a container that I can put somewhere,” said Mandoyi.

She currently funds the book club and children’s excursions from her own pocket. “Some books have been donated by friends, colleagues, Nal’ibali and Book Dash, but others I have bought myself.”

Mandoyi says she gets a lot of support from parents, and some have even asked her to tutor their children privately. She says all children are welcome to join, but she would like to focus on lessons for children in grades 2 and 3 from next year.

“I try to incorporate different ways of learning in our sessions and not just reading. We do things like singing, dancing before a session just to wake up the body and go on excursions. Recently I took them to the movies to see The Little Mermaid,” says Mandoyi.

Mandoyi’s dream is to grow the Chosi-chosi Book Club and expand to other townships like Khayelitsha.

Image: Instagram

BY Nkosazana Ngwadla

Although it rained for four days in the Western Cape, with the winds reaching 67 kph on the N2 between East London and Port Alfred, nothing was about to stop Nyiko Masango from cycling on.

The goal was to show that nothing was impossible, so Mr Dynamix, as he is affectionately known, cycled a total of 2,626 km from his birthplace of Nkowankowa, outside Tzaneen in Limpopo, all the way to Cape Town.

From Limpopo he moved on to Mpumalanga, the North West, Gauteng, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern, Western and Eastern Cape.

The plan was to travel 150 km a day and to arrive in Cape Town by the 20th day. However, after he completed all nine provinces, winding up in Gqeberha on the 18th day, he cycled back to Cape Town the next day, completing his mission a day early.

In August this year, he celebrated his 46th birthday on the road, cycling over 300 km from Midrand to Polokwane. In the past he’s cycled from Tzaneen to Tanzania and also likes to go on adventures on foot, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to Gilman’s Point in 12 hours and walking 400 km from Tzaneen to Joburg.

Although he says that the biking challenge is one of his proudest moments so far, he says nothing will beat fatherhood.

Image: Facebook

BY Nkosazana Ngwadla

Young innovators from the Western Cape have launched a new ‘political dating’ platform that adds an unexpected twist to demystifying party politics for South African voters. 

When people talk about voter apathy among the youth, they think that there’s complete disengagement, but from my personal experience, that’s not true. People want to vote, and they know that it’s important, but information about what the parties stand for is often inaccessible,” says Yoh Vote cocreator Ryan Young.

This is what sparked Young and Yeshav Sewlal to enlist a group of their friends to embark on a journey to create a fun, no-fuss platform to entice young people to participate in the upcoming elections.

What started as a conversation among the group of university mates about the local government elections in November 2021 and indecision about whom to vote for quickly morphed into a project to get the youth more excited about engaging in politics.

The young innovators from Stellenbosch University and the University of Cape Town launched Yoh Vote, a Tinder-like platform, in mid-August. Yoh Vote acts as a political matchmaking platform, allowing users to “date” political parties to find one best suited to their political needs.

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After answering a series of thought-provoking questions, users are matched with their ideal party and given information about the organisation, in a similar way to how singles looking for love online craft their dating profiles.

They are then given the option to “take things further” and get redirected to the party’s website, where they can learn more for themselves.

According to Young, the idea for the political party dating platform was birthed from the realisation that there is a hunger to participate in politics and elections among the youth in South Africa. He says the problem arises because many people don’t know where to start.

“[We] wanted to try to make [information about political parties] more accessible and also more fun [so that it appeals] to young people. We’ve seen, especially before we launched the platform, people saying, ‘Guys, we must register to vote. We have got to do something. The country is not in a good place.’

“But they didn’t know how to start having those conversations.”

Sewlal adds that although some party information is accessible, the sheer amount of political messaging tends to get overwhelming, especially for people who do not engage regularly with politics.

The aim, according to Sewlal, is not to tell users who to vote for, but rather to introduce them to what each political party has to offer and let users decide for themselves.

He says Yoh Vote is meant to push users to think more deeply about why they were matched with the particular party and what that means about their own internal politics.

“We want to see a lot of people show up [at the polls]. That has always been at the core of what Yoh Vote is,” says Sewal. “On one hand, there is this political matchmaking to get people to whittle out the noise, but our messaging does lead down to ‘register to vote, be more engaged’ and all of that.”

For now, the platform only allows users to “date” five of South Africa’s leading political parties: the ANC, DA, EFF, IFP and ActionSA. Young and Sewlal are very much aware of the shortcomings of their platform, and they plan to add more parties as the elections draw closer.

They also plan to translate the quiz and the matchmaker profiles into South Africa’s official languages to make Yoh Vote more accessible.

Image: Yoh Vote

BY Nkosazana Ngwadla

Flagship e.tv show Smoke & Mirrors has now reached the 3 million milestone mark, joining in its fellow sibling footsteps Isitha The Enemy.

On the 19 and 20 of October the show kickstarted it’s 3 million journey, where viewers got to see Martha (Lusanda Mbane) becoming collateral damage to Jaxon’s schemes, (Mesahck Mavuso – Magabane) in what seemed like Martha’s “death”.

“We are extremely proud of this achievement, our viewers have been on a challenging journey with us due to load shedding, but we’ve seen a steady growth in numbers and now we are happy to say we are part of the 3 million GANG” said e.tv Executive Producer, Dithapelo Segodi.

Exciting stories and plans are in the pipeline for the show: Thandiswa is a girl on mission to rid the town of three evil men, but the question is – who will she eliminate first?

Smoke & Mirrors airs weeknights at 9PM only on e.tv

Image: Supplied

BY Nkosazana Ngwadla

Meet Monica Sithole, an inspirational 25-year-old Chartered Accountant, who in July 2020 was diagnosed with stage 4 hematological blood cancer.

After nine months, 12 chemotherapy sessions, five scans and four surgeries, she was officially declared cancer free.

Monica holds a Bachelor of Accounting Sciences and a CTA in Accounting from Wits University. She obtained her APC and ITC from SAICA and completed her articles at PwC South Africa.

“At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in July 2020, at age 22, I was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness and immediately started the treatment. My faith in God and my family’s unwavering support kept me going, as well as the fact that there is just so much I would like to do for my family, so I still need to be alive to do all of that.

The nurses and the doctor treating me also did a great job of encouraging me. Meeting other patients at the chemo clinic who had been diagnosed with the same type of cancer that I had and who had been receiving treatment for it, also kept me going.”

“After overcoming such a hectic situation in my life at the tender age of 23, I ought to live a bold and fearless lifestyle for the rest of my life. God gave me a second chance, and for that reason who am I to fear anything in this life?”

“I am truly grateful for all the people who supported me during my unique journey of articles and carried me in ways I could never imagine.

To my colleagues and managers who played fundamental roles in ensuring that my well-being and development was prioritised, thank you.

To my friends and family who prayed for me during times I could not pray for myself, thank you,” said Sithole.

Image: LinkedIn

BY Nkosazana Ngwadla

“I just cannot stay at home if I am not sick, it is in my blood. My dad was very strict and imprinted that in my mind. Discipline makes one a stronger person,” says Reinhardt Landsberg, Chief Artisan of the University’ Carpenter Workshop.

Since 1999, Reinhardt has never been absent from work on sick leave. Reinhardt started at the former PE Technikon in 1994 and took three days’ sick leave for chicken pox, when his children infected him in 1999. He says that he is quite healthy, but also, he just cannot just stay away from work.

Reinhardt’s story is very inspiring as absenteeism from work, with employees taking sick leave without actually being sick, is a well-known phenomenon at workplaces and it decreases productivity all over. Some employees also believe it is their right to take their sick leave although they are not sick. If they do then fall seriously sick, they do not have adequate sick leave.

Both Reinhardt’s children Melissa and Natasha have also not been absent from school or university classes. Melissa is currently completing her master’s degree in psychology and received a VC Excellence Award for her honours’ degree studies. She has also done some lecturing at the University. She will be doing her internship next year.

Natasha graduated with an honours in industrial psychology and works at LabourNet. His wife Annette has been working for years at the Department of Agriculture.

Reinhardt also emphasised the importance of being grateful for the work situation at the University compared to his ten-year career as a young man in the building industry. He loved sport, but because of his working hours, he could not play serious sport. He also says that the University paid staff their full salaries during the pandemic, whereas many employees received reduced salaries or were retrenched.

His office works with contractors and the maintenance of office infrastructure, such as cupboards, carpets, blinds, among others. He now loves watching sport.

Image: LinkedIn

BY Nkosazana Ngwadla

At just 11 months old, Itumeleng Sekhu-Pedi suffered third-degree burns after a candle fell over and created a 70 degrees celsius fire.

As a result, she lost her right arm, four fingers on the left hand and has extensive scarring on her face and the right side of her body. Itumeleng who is from the Soshanguve township, north of Pretoria has defied the odds as a person living with a disability.

She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Audiovisual Communications from the University of Johannesburg.

She is a remarkable Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, International Accredited Speaker, Media Personality, Wife, Mother and Author of “What Do You See?”. Itumeleng is also the Founder of IS Wines, IS Candles and Itumeleng Sekhu Foundation.

She services corporates and institutions with the “Get Going” motivational talks that have injected inspiration and re-evaluation in members of staff and management.

“Don’t feel sorry for yourself. The fact that you are still alive means God has a purpose for your life. Seek what your purpose is and start living it. There is a power that lies within you and once you tap into your power and purpose, you become unstoppable,” said Sekhu-Pedi.

Image: LinkedIn

BY Nkosazana Ngwadla

The launch of isiZulu book, Ibhengele Lesethembiso by senior lecturer in Social Work at UKZN Dr Maud Mthembu was attended by representatives of government and non-governmental organisations from across KwaZulu-Natal.

The publication addresses teenage pregnancy, one of South Africa’s deep-seated social problems.

Targeted at children aged 10 to 15 as Mthembu believes in ligotshwa lisemanzi (nurturing them while they are still young), the book aims to raise awareness of teenage pregnancy, appropriate decision-making and abstinence using language and a medium that is appropriate for children.

In writing the book, Mthembu collaborated with a group of UKZN students to understand their experiences in relation to this issue. Thanks to a generous donation from Don Bosco, a German NGO led by Professor Michael and Mrs Dorothee Boecker, 2 500 copies have been distributed to more than 20 organisations working with children.

Dean and Head of the School of Applied Human Sciences, Professor Matshepo Matoane commended Mthembu for sharing her expertise whilst also promoting prevention of teenage pregnancy.

‘This initiative provides the necessary skills to interact appropriately when confronted with such issues. The fact that it is written in isiZulu represents a positive shift in the Africanisation of knowledge production on the continent and in South Africa.’

Matoane added that it is aligned with UKZN’s Strategic Plan for 2023-2032 that commits the University to high-impact research innovation to tackle significant societal, economic and developmental challenges.

Lecturer and Academic Leader of Community Engagement in the School Dr Nolwazi Ngcobo described the book as a journey of knowledge exchange and empowerment for young girls, with exceptional storytelling featuring relatable characters and life scenarios.

Mthembu acknowledged everyone who contributed: ‘This book was not a one-person show but rather, a collaborative process. Thank you to all those who assisted.’

Image and source: UKZN

BY Nkosazana Ngwadla

Thapelo Maja was raised in shack at an informal settlement in Gauteng, he found himself losing hope because of his circumstances.

However, after persevering, Thapelo says he has witnessed the greatness of God, especially when looking back where he comes from.

“Ntwana ya Mokhukhung (a boy from the shacks) today works as qualified mathematics teacher at one of the public school in Sebokeng. Ntwana ya Mokhukhung graduated with 26 distinctions and two Top 15% medals of his field of study.

Ntwana ya mokhukhung owns his business Pesso wood doors -pty. Ntwana ya Mokhukhung is a forever living hustler.

Ntwana ya mokhukhung always motivates every kid on the street through education and entrepreneurship. Ntwana tsa kasi your dreams are valid,” Thapelo said with pride.

He added that he didn’t achieve all these things through his own understanding, but by the grace of God.

Image: LinkedIn

BY Nkosazana Ngwadla

Get ready for a double dose of fresh drama as etv’s Scandal! introduces two intriguing characters who will certainly spice up the storyline. John, played by Xolani Ncobeni, and Thandi Mnguni, portrayed by Khombi Sangweni, are joining the cast, promising to bring a new level of excitement to the show.

John – The Unpredictable Farmer

John is a farmer, with a twist. Family means everything to him, and he’s a devoted brother to his sister Nomvula Kubeka. John is a hardworking man, running his farm with passion. While he may seem friendly and approachable at first, there’s more to him than meets the eye. John believes in the power of hard work and despises laziness. When his farm faces threats from environmentalists, he takes unconventional steps to protect his livelihood. His actions lead to a series of unexpected events that will keep viewers guessing.

Thandi Mnguni – A Complex Turn of Loyalty

Thandi Mnguni is a character who can be nurturing, but firm when needed. She has a soft spot for her younger brother and initially supports his questionable actions. As the situation escalates and her nephew’s safety becomes a concern, Thandi must question her loyalties. She undergoes a change of heart to ensure her nephew’s well-being.

With John and Thandi in the mix, e.tv’s Scandal! is about to get even more thrilling. Don’t miss the new episodes for a captivating journey through the world of drama and suspense.

Catch Scandal! on weeknights at 7.30 PM

Images: Supplied