Author: Grocott's Mail Contributors

‘The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions’ – Henry Martyn Luke records that Jesus inaugurated His ministry in Nazareth His home town by reading from (Isaiah 61:1-2) and applying the prophecy to Himself: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news (Gospel) to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour”(Luke 4: 18-19). “Jesus tells us that He has come to bring good news to the…

In the 1980’s a Rosalind Slater published a collection of 10 books containing a collection of letters and diaries preserved by John Francis Slater and Sarah Ann Slater (Bland) from members of the Slater  family to their parents at Carnarvon Dale farm on the Bushmans River. The books are known as The Carnarvon Dale Papers and the one I have is number 7 – ‘Diamonds’. It contains letters written by Thomas George Slater (son) who was a diamond buyer and died in Kimberley on 31 December 1882. My late grandmother was Mabel Mary Slater and her sister Constance Evelyn Slater…

My name is Nomzolisi Mgudlandlu. I’m 30 years old and am studying at East Cape Midlands College doing Management Assistant N5. I live in Transit Camp in Makhanda. I aim to collect 200 sanitary pads by midday on Monday 19 April for learners in Makhanda primary schools. My first distribution will be at 10am on 20 April at NV Cewu Primary School. I’ve already received donations from close friends, some Makhanda residents and people around the Eastern Cape. I’ve also bought some myself. I am hoping that GMDirect readers will help out by donating because I want this campaign to…

Gino Shelile is the brains and creativity behind the rebranding of SABC3 which on 5 April launched the rebranded S3. Here he shares some of his memories as a student in Rhodes University’s School of Journalism and Media Studies. I spent a lot of time filming things that were outside of the curriculum. I would hire equipment from [stores manager]Dees [Naidoo] when I had projects for [TV lecturers] Alette [Schoon] or Paddy [Donnelly] and then use the weekend with the gear to film my own productions. These were usually cheesy profile pieces on the SRC President candidates (e.g. Martin Forsythe);…

From 5 April, viewers of SABC3 – now S3 – have experienced a fresh new look and feel. The person behind it, Rhodes University Journalism graduate Gino Shelile, shares his vision and explains the process behind rebranding the prime-time television channel. In March, we were tasked with repositioning one of the SABC channels. Namely, SABC 3. This new look and channel positioning would launch on 5 April, 2021. The brief was to create a brand identity that would resonate with millennials that were curious, free-thinking and brave enough to pursue their dreams. The scope was quite wide, encompassing the LGBTQI+ community as…

An increasing number of South Africans have started to physically transfer some of their wealth offshore. Although investing offshore is not necessarily always a one-way bet, there are a number of good reasons as to why people should consider investing offshore. These include a wider range of investment opportunities abroad, the weakening of the rand and political instability. The recent discourse around expropriation of land without compensation has resulted in a heightened level of unease regarding the security of investments in South Africa. One of the most important reasons for investing a portion of your wealth offshore should be to…

On Sunday 11 April two residents of eNkanini received indigenous trees for their gardens. The recipients, Manezi Mcuba and Likhaya Willie, met two donors, Helen Collett and Richard Davis from Cape Town, and together they prepared the holes and planted a tree in each recipient’s garden. Up to 10 trees would be planted in each garden during the next week, and 3-5 more recipients will be presented with 10 trees each in the following weeks, said environmental activist Willem Coetzer. Collett and Davis have made a contribution to the establishment of a small-scale tree nursery initiated by Mcuba and Coetzer.…

By ANELE MJEKULA Makana Municipality conducted a sod-turning ceremony to mark the start of the upgrade of Ncame Street in Joza on Monday 12 April 2021. Ncame is one of the busiest streets in Makhanda, which is why it was among the first roads to be refurbished. The popular road was even busier yesterday as Makana Municipality Mayor Councillor Mzukisi Mpahlwa and Engineering and Infrastructure Services Portfolio Chairperson Councillor Ramie Xonxa led the symbolic ceremony. The road network all around Makana Municipality is in desperate need of repairs. The municipality is aware of this and plans are in the pipeline…

Aphelele Mtotywa is the Manager of the Makana Rape Survivor Support Group. Here she tells us about the organisation and how to access the care it offers. The Makana Rape Survivor Support Group is a GBV NPO. We cater for both female and male victims of any GBV act. The organization has eight caregivers who offer emotional and some psychological support to our survivors. Our aim as an organization is to prevent secondary traumatisation. We strive to protect our survivors at all times – from our first encounter (when they report at the police station or when they call us),…

RHODES COMMUNICATIONS Rhodes Business School Senior Lecturer, Professor Tshidi Mohapeloa has been unanimously elected by all 26 universities as the Deputy Chairperson of the national Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) Communities of Practice (CoP) for Entrepreneurship Learning and Teaching. EDHE is a unit under Universities South Africa (USAf).  The 3rd annual EDHE Kick-Off 2021 took place virtually in a three-day event from 24 to 26 March. The event was centred on encouraging entrepreneurship against all odds, which is the EDHE theme of the year. EDHE Entrepreneurship Director, Dr Norah Clarke said the intention of the event was to engage…