By Farirai Dangwa As the genocide continues in Palestine, Rhodes University shows solidarity for a student stuck in Gaza, unable to escape the conflict. Mohammed Alshannat, a Linguistics PhD student at Rhodes University, returned to Palestine in 2020 due to the COVID-19 virus as he wanted to be closer to his family during the pandemic. 2020 was the last time Alshannat was in Makhanda, and he has been stuck in Palestine since then, enduring indescribable hardship with his family amid the war. Throughout his difficult time in Palestine, he has been in contact with the International Office and his supervisor…
Author: Fari Dangwa
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Fari Dangwa Youth empowerment and community enhancement come together to help create new skills for the youth of Makhanda. A collaboration between local youth, Tukela Seyisi, ambassador of the Robben Island Museum, and the Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts & Culture, this program aims to build new skills by enhancing and broadening the participants’ comprehension and consciousness of societal issues. The participants will then identify solutions for these issues and build their capability to take action regarding solution implementation. Learners from grades 8-11 and first year university or college students will participate in this four-day program. Ten learners from every…
By Farirai Dangwa and Migcobo Majali As we countdown the days to the 2024 elections, the question is not only whether the people are ready but whether the state is ready. Different municipalities must be ready to make this important voting process as seamless as possible to administer the nationwide election effectively. Seeing as this is potentially the most important vote since the first democratic election in 1994, everything dealing with the process needs to be thorough. Institutions need to be ready for anything to allow everyone registered to vote to be able to cast their ballot. The different institutions involved…
By Farirai Dangwa As another Mother’s Day comes and goes, Rhodes University’s Documentary and Filmmakers Association commemorates this day by hosting a documentary screening of ‘Girl, Taken,’ a gripping true story of the abduction of a baby girl taken from a hospital three days after her birth. The screening took place at the Amazwi Museum of Literature on 10 May. After viewing the documentary, one of the directors, François Verster, a South African independent film director and documentary maker, joined via Zoom and spoke about the film. Before the Zoom meeting, people were encouraged to write down questions and comments…
By Farirai Dangwa As we gear up to celebrate 30 years of democracy in South Africa, anticipation builds as the 2024 elections approach. In celebration of these two milestones alongside their 120th anniversary, Rhodes University’s Drama Department puts on a play by the MEQOQO Playback Theatre Collective titled “Elections, Deceptions, Erections, Discretions, Deflections, Infections, Directions, Reflections, Obsessions, Recessions, Aggressions, Confessions…” at the Rhodes Box Theatre. On 24 and 25 April 2024, the opening night saw a packed house, and the final performance also drew an impressive crowd. The production was headed by Lalu Mokuku, the artistic director, with the help…
By Farirai Dangwa The eye for fashion and design knows no bounds in the small town of Makhanda. Elethu Kezia Ngqiyaza is a 17-year-old grade 11 learner who discovered her passion for fashion at a young age. Elethu aims to empower the youth to delve deeper into fashion because she believes it can help them figure out who they are and want to be. She says, “I wanted to empower more women based on fashion; they shouldn’t feel bad about their fashion because fashion defines who you are.” Fashion brings light and joy into people’s lives; Elethu wants to help…
By Farirai Dangwa On the closing night of the 2024 Journalism Summit, Rhodes University’s School of Journalism and Media Studies celebrated the rich history of broadcasting by paying homage to one of the first pioneers of South African journalism, John Tengo Jabavu. On Thursday, 4 April 2024, Rhodes University’s School of Journalism hosted a Jollof and Jabavu night as a tribute to John Jabavu. Jabavu was co-editor of the first newspaper that printed its articles in isiXhosa, called ‘Isigidimi samaXhosa’. He later founded his own newspaper, ‘Imvo Zabantsundu’, and advocated for equal rights for all, regardless of race or gender.…