26-year-old attorney, Alungile Madolo, from a small town near Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, has an inspirational journey. Beating societal barriers after being discriminated against due to her gender, the young lawyer, who was admitted as an attorney of the High Court, continues to make waves after recently opening up her own legal firm.
Born and raised in Coza A/A in Libode, Alungile says her passion to become a lawyer began when she was watching a television show called Sokhulu and Partners.
The young attorney studied in Mthatha at St. Johns College and Walter Sisulu University where she was enrolled for Bachelor of Laws from 2015 to 2018. She conducted her Practical Legal Training in 2019 at LEAD.
In 2020, she joined the field and became a Candidate attorney at AS ZONO and Associates. In 2021 after having passed her board exams and completing her contract, she was admitted as an attorney of the High Court.
The High Court attorney went on to open her own legal practice, ALUNGILE MADOLO INC in 2022. She says opening her own legal firm at the age of 25 was the best decision she has made. Alungile also says being an attorney has taught her quite a lot, such as being patient.
The proud mother encourages everyone, especially the youth, to take a leap of faith and go after their dreams, using whatever resources are at their disposal.
The mining industry has long been recognized as a male-dominated field, with women historically underrepresented in various roles. However, as we move towards a more inclusive and equitable society, it is crucial to recognize the importance of empowering women in the mining industry and creating an enabling environment that motivates and encourages their success.
On International Day of Women in Mining, June 15, Glencore Ferroalloys hosted a Women in Mining (WIM) conference under the theme ‘We work for our success’. The event’s mission was to commemorate women and the vital role they play in the mining industry while advocating for gender equality. This event was a resounding success.
Representatives from Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), Minerals Council South Africa, Mine Health and Safety Council, Glencore representatives from different operations including senior management, as well as legendary actress and businesswoman Sophie Ndaba were in attendance. The event focused on engaging in thought-provoking discourse that highlighted the need to prioritise women’s safety and well-being within the mining industry.
The conversations unpacked the challenges faced by women in mining such as, suitable PPE, the safety of women on the mines, mental health, as well as the threat of gender-based violence. To further bring these issues to light, the Minerals Council’s Deputy Safety & Sustainable Development Department Manager, Lerato Tsele, highlighted the Mine Health and Safety Act, which is currently under amendment.
The amendments will include guidelines that will make it mandatory for all mining organizations to comply with the Code of Good Practice with regards to making available differently designed PPE to accommodate the different body-types of women in mining.
“The mining industry currently employs 72 500 female mine workers, a great improvement from where it comes from. Despite this, there is still a long way to go. There is a huge focus and efforts to ensure gender equality in the workplace. Technology is utilized to assist with the heavy-load tasks in the workplace, which will ultimately improve safety and health,” said Tsele.
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In May 2022, Glencore launched its WiM Forum, which is made up of committees from each of its nine operations. The Committees are mandated to come up with solutions for women’s safety and advocate for gender equality. Glencore Ferroalloys Group Metallurgical Manager – Mining and WiM Forum Chairperson, Neo Molelekeng, gave an overview of their performance and achievements within the last year in the following areas:
– PPE trials conducted for female employees, as PPE was originally designed to be unisex and more suited for a male physique -Installation of portable hygienic flushable underground ablution facilities for women -Provision of sanitary towels on site, a much-needed convenience for women particularly those working underground with long walking distances to their working areas. – Initiatives to address gender-based violence including providing self-defense classes to women and a study to investigate reliable panic buttons to be sourced for female employees. – Mentorship and coaching for women – WiM surveys conducted to gain understanding why female employees would stay and choose Glencore Alloys as an employer of choice
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“We exist because of the women in our organization. Our purpose is to create inclusive spaces to ensure we unlock the immense potential that women bring into the mining industry. This is only the beginning, and we look forward to witnessing the incredible journey of each and every woman playing their part to help revolutionize the industry for future women miners,” said Molelekeng.
Senior Health and Safety Inspector of Mines, Omphemetse Phefo from the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), made it clear that her mandate is to ensure zero harm in the industry. She stated the importance of equipping and empowering women with the necessary resources to ensure that they are safe at all times regardless of their environment.
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Sophie Ndaba encouraged the women to make use of the opportunities at their disposal and empower others.
“I am inspired everyday by women who work for their success, for there is no one who can do that for you besides yourself. Be encouraged and surround yourself with people whom you can learn from for they can help you grow. Grab on to knowledge and let it build and guide you on your way to the top,” she said.
The conference is set to be held annually as a key platform to track the progress of the WiM Forum’s mission and to fast-track inclusion safety for women in Glencore Ferroalloys.
Ronan Hermann, a current UJ student-athlete, and Ryan Rickleton, a UJ alumnus, have both signed professional cricket contracts.
Hermann, a batsman, has signed a high-performance contract with the Lions cricket team. This is a significant achievement for the young player, who is one step closer to securing a full professional contract. Rickleton, a wicket-keeper batsman, has joined the senior national cricket squad, the Proteas.
Additionally, Rickleton recently won two prestigious awards, DP World Lions Player of the Season and McDonald’s Player’s Player of the Season, at the Lions Awards. Nicolas Whitelaw also won the Black Widow Premier “B” T20 Batsman Award while the UJ Saturday 2 team won the inaugural Macrocomm Saturday T20 Champions Award.
The UJ Cricket Club continues its winning streak on and off the pitch, having had six young UJ players added to the Lions squad this year. According to coach Siyabonga Sibiya, Hermann’s consistent display of skill and dedication to the game impressed the Lions Cricket Club, leading them to retain him as a valued player in their system.
Ronan Herman in action
“This is a significant step that will take him [Hermann] closer to realising his dream to secure a full professional contract soon. The UJ Cricket Club has consistently nurtured talent and provided a platform for players to excel. Through strategic partnerships and dedicated coaching personnel, UJ continues to contribute to the future of South African cricket. The university remains committed to supporting its student-athletes in their pursuit of excellence and dreams,” says coach Sibiya.
Sibiya adds that Hermann’s high-performance contract and Rickleton’s CSA Proteas contract showcases the UJ Cricket Club’s prowess in producing talent that can represent South Africa in the future. We, as a University community and cricket professionals, look forward to witnessing their continued success and impact in the cricketing arena, both nationally and internationally.
Vangile Makwakwa is the founder of Wealthy Money and is passionate about helping people heal their ancestral money trauma so they can unlock their inner money guru and thrive, financially.
Vangile became debt free in 2014. “It took me 5 years to pay off US$60,000 (R1, 000,000) in debt, including student loans. I’ve since become a homeowner, published a book, gotten a yoga teaching certificate, been featured in various media and embarked on a new journey as a nomadic entrepreneur,” she writes.
“I’ve been traveling for 15 years and have lived in over 7 countries (USA, South Africa, the UK, South Korea, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka) and travelled to more countries in recent years as I built my company (all without a credit card). In 2019, I lived and visited 8 countries and spent a month or more in each place, without incurring any debt,” she continues.
After completig her MBA, Vangile tried to follow a business plan but failed. “I had a whole 20-page business plan, and I worked my little heart out to have the perfect business plan and kept trying to follow it and the business failed. That whole experience taught me a lot about entrepreneurship.
I thought I was a failure and unsuited for entrepreneurship, until I started doing the money work I do around money trauma.
WHEN I LAUNCHED WEALTHY MONEY, I DITCHED THE BUSINESS PLAN.
I now do an annual 1 page spider diagram with strategies, business models and projected income on 1 page and the business has grown consistently. I teach my clients and the #MoneyMagic students how to do an income worksheet and we talk about strategies.
And the rest is the inner work. I help people create extra streams of income and quadruple income with just a 1 page document and a simple strategy. The real game changer for me and for my clients has been the inner work. I tell all my clients – cash is the life blood of a business.
If your business doesn’t make money, you won’t be in business for long. I learned that from my entrepreneurship lecturer, but the education system only teaches us how to write business plans and how to raise money from venture capitalists and angel investors.
Truth is – very few businesses get funding and even fewer black women get funding.
ONE BECOMES AN ENTREPRENEUR BY DOING AND OFTEN BY DOING THE UNCOMFORTABLE AND SCARY ISH
Like selling, asking people who owe you money to pay you, charging the prices you want and hiring others. That uncomfortable stuff is where the inner work makes the biggest difference. I won’t lie and say it’s less uncomfortable, but when we do the work, it gets easier to take action and do it and scale.”
Director, Tebogo Malope stole the hearts of Americans with his documentary, ‘Rise: The Siya Kolisi Story’, which highlights Kolisi as the first black South African rugby captain who against all odds led the South African national team to win the 2019 World Cup Rugby tournament and in turn united the country.
The film hit DStv earlier this year and was screened this past week at a popular film festival in Tribeca where an American audience voted it the number one film at the festival.
Just under 110 feature films from 127 filmmakers across 36 countries wowed the crowds at this year’s Tribeca Festival in New York City from June 7 to 18.
In the film, Kolisi shares both his challenges and victories, which include his rise to international stardom, his complicated relationship with his father, his struggle with alcoholism and his journey with his wife, Rachel Kolisi.
Produced by Jon Day, the documentary feature takes audiences through a remarkable story of a rebellious young man who develops into a leader and cultural icon admired worldwide.
Spent the whole of last week making magic in the Eastern Cape and @Tembelihle01 was there to capture it all, you have one helluva an eye my brother, really impressed by your work. There'll definitely be more. Salute bro 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/LZzzYReJy5
Meet – Dr Thandeka Ngcobo, at age 17 she fall pregnant, instead of being defeated by a teenage pregnancy, she worked very hard to become a remarkable Medical Doctor.
She hails from a small village called Hlutankungu in Ixopo, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. She and her seven siblings were raised by a single mother and later became a teenage mother herself.
Against all odds, she matriculated as one of the top 10 students in the region and went to obtain a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), becoming the second graduate in her family.
“My late mother is my heroine. She could have told me to stay home and raise my daughter, but instead she gave me the chance to thrive. And thrive I did,” she said.
Dr Thandeka Ngcobo is currently a Medical Officer, with a focus on Family Medicine as she believes that proper primary health care services is a vital tool to fight the burden of diseases and illnesses in the health sector.
Rural KZN is where we find MamKhulu, mother of two kids and wife to a hardworking man. But, MamKhulu has a strained relationship with her daughter, MaDlamini (Neo Iman Mothae). Although the two have been estranged for some time, bad dreams have forced MamKhulu to try and reconcile with her daughter.
While a dark cloud seems to be hovering over Bhungane’s unborn child with MaDlamini, the family dynamics will change as soon as the child’s paternity is revealed.
But one main question remains, if MamKhulu is the mother of two, who is her second child?
In 2022, Nomhle Ngwenya became the youngest PhD graduate at the University of the Witwatersrand’s science faculty.
At just 25 years old, she became the youngest academic to obtain a PhD in science. She was also the first black woman to jump straight from an honours programme to a PhD in the history of Wits.
Before her, the title of the youngest PhD graduate across all faculties at Wits was awarded to a 23-year-old student in the field of medicine in the early 2000s, according to Wits senior communications specialist Buhle Zuma.
Ngwenya always knew she wanted to carve a career in the field of geography, but she never imagined that one day she would achieve such an academic milestone.
She enrolled for a BA degree in sociology and geography at Wits in 2015, and completed the degree in 2017. After that, Ngwenya pursued a bachelor of science honours degree in geography. The specialised degree looked at sustainability science, water science and human geography components, including environmental management and other rarely covered topics.
She urges undergraduate students to further their studies after obtaining a degree.
“I think there should be more support regarding opportunities which are rarely spoken about to undergraduates, about what can be achieved after their undergraduate studies. There are opportunities such as honours, master’s and PhD programmes. Sometimes we don’t need to rush off into the job market.”
“My first-year self would be shocked to see that I graduated within the minimum amount of time, let alone with distinction!”
These are the words of new University of Pretoria (UP) alumnus Yijen Hsieh, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Food Science, cum laude, during the 2023 autumn graduation season.
“I was regularly disheartened because initially, I was underperforming in many of my assessments,” says Hsieh, who is enrolled in an honours degree in the same field. “I did not have much hope that I would pass my first year. But I am proud of myself for not giving up and not letting negative thoughts get in the way of my progress.”
For Hsieh, the difficult transition from high school to university could have contributed to her self-doubt.
“I had to learn to adapt my study methods and improve my time management skills to be on top of my studies,” she recalls. “I realised I could no longer be as carefree as I was at high school. I had to keep pushing myself to do well despite feeling exhausted.”
She says her biggest challenge was managing her time.
“I wanted to balance my time among my studies, family, friends and myself,” she says. “There were many moments when I felt burnt out, because I’d spend most of my time on my studies, rarely taking breaks to rest. I was able to overcome this thanks to reminders from my friends. I also took up hobbies such as reading books and magazines during my breaks.”
Above it all, she says the education she received at UP is top of the range, which is why she decided to further her studies at the same institution. Hsieh believes that alumni have a role in bettering their alma mater by providing financial support for improved infrastructure and services that can help enhance the learning experience of students. This financial support, she says, can also contribute to funding the tuition fees of underprivileged students.
Hsieh attributes her achievement to her parents. She looks up to them because they faced many obstacles when they emigrated from Taiwan to South Africa in 1987.
“They worked hard to adapt and make a decent living in a foreign country,” says Hsieh, who was born in South Africa in 2000. “I want to be as resilient and ambitious as them. For the most part, I had a pleasant upbringing because my parents always tried to provide the best for me, even if it meant rarely taking a break from work. That is why getting my qualification with distinction was such a big thing for me – because not only did I make myself proud, but I made them proud too.”
Upon completing her honours degree, Hsieh plans to get work experience in various fields in the food industry, such as quality control, food safety and product development.
“After some time working in the food industry, I would like to also pursue a master’s degree in food science at UP,” she says.
Meet the Tsiloane sisters, Kedibone and Kekeletso who own Ramtsilo Manufacturing and Construction based in Sasolburg, Free State.
They provide a sustainable and innovative solution to South Africa’s plastic pollution pandemic by using all types of plastic, including non-recyclable plastic, to make bricks.
Their recycled plastic bricks look just like cement bricks, but they’re better in all respects. They use less water to manufacture, have a higher compressive strength, are less porous and last longer than conventional bricks. They are also fire-retardant and are provide greater insulation and energy efficiency.
Ramtsilo is passionate about recycling, reducing waste and creating a greener environment, whilst generating sustainable incomes through waste recycling.
“That’s why we have created a circular green economy in the plastic recycling and building materials industry. We work closely with waste pickers and buy-back centres to source plastic. Through these collection efforts, they not only save municipalities millions of Rands, but are able to earn incomes that support their families,” the sisters say.
Ramtsilo has been recognised at the 2019 Standard Bank Top Women conference; Engen Pitch & Polish, powered by Raizcorp; and the SAB Social Foundations Social Innovation Awards.
Ramtsilo provides the following services:
Manufacturing of plastic bricks
Recycling
Waste management
Construction: general building, civil engineering and electrical engineering
