By Slovo Dyira
I am an optimistic and enthusiastic, disabled gentleman who was born in Makhanda and grew up here. I went to Good Shepherd Primary School and finished off my school career at Ntsika Senior Secondary School. I started working at the age of 16 at the National Arts Festival, which gave birth to my undying love for graphics made from Adobe software.
In the year 2016, I started my own company. It was initially only about assisting close friends and family by designing posters for them, but the business grew and now operates as Slovo Dyira Media Communications. I have grown through experience from just designing posters to actually running an overall media company.
I managed to obtain a certificate from the University of Cape Town through GetSmarter, being empowered by the Centre for Biological Control at Rhodes University to participate in a short course on Adobe Illustrator in early 2020.
These days, I am also currently working as an intern for Sipho Zono of Sizo Media. I joined this company on 10 February 2023. This led me to also become an intern at Grocott’s Mail. Since I joined the newspaper’s team, I have taken with me the importance of managing my workload and scheduling my life in order that I can be on time with everything pertaining to life in general.
One of the most fascinating things that stands out for me, is the art of words when it comes to writing. This I have captured, even though I am still learning. Being part of the team of student and intern journalists has also taught me a lot about community values and the broadness of media in its entirety.
My utmost desire is to learn more about media studies, especially about graphics in their different elements. I feel like there is little help out there for many young people who envision themselves in this line of work. So, my aim is to elevate my knowledge in order to use my experience to help others, just as I was also assisted to reach where I am today.
(Slovo Dyira is a 2023 Grocott’s Mail intern, and writes regularly for the newspaper).
