By JOY HINYIKIWILE Learning was again disrupted at Mary Waters High School when parents and learners protested teacher absenteeism on Thursday morning. The protestors closed the school’s gate and refused to let anyone in until their concerns were addressed. They said they were protesting because Matric Mathematics Literacy and Grade 10 Life Orientation classes had not been taught since the start of Term 3. While the LO teacher, who also teaches English, is said to be sick, there was no explanation for where the Maths Lit teacher was. Parents said they had made countless complaints about the matter, but nothing…
Author: Joy Hinyikiwile
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By JOY HINYIKIWILE With the country’s unemployment rate at an all-time high, Joza’s Assumption Development Centre (ADC) has committed to placing 117 unemployed people in local organisations and businesses as interns. The ADC, a skills training and small business development centre, is one of several partner organisations that have received a grant from the Social Employment Fund to help fight unemployment. The organisations will provide internships to unemployed people between July this year and March next year for R23.19 per hour. The interns work an average of 15 hours a week. “We look for organisations that can help the interns…
BY LESEDI MASOKO Many black families experience dreadful financial strain. The majority are unemployed, with no means of income, aside from government grants which are barely enough to sustain an individual, let alone a family. Umashonisa (loan sharks) circle in these waters, threatening the financial security of many with interest rates of up to 50%. Joza-based NGO the Assumption Development Centre (ADC) is on a mission to eradicate the mashonisa culture and restore the safety and dignity of vulnerable people. The organization has introduced a stokvel, known as ‘Save Aid’, for individuals and families to save money and lend at…
BY MZWANDILE MAMAILA The Assumption Development Centre provides a Second Chance Matric Programme and other programs that young adults can use to upskill themselves. Through the second chance matric program, learners unsatisfied with their matric results can attend classes in the subjects they would like to upgrade. Necessary material is provided, such as textbooks, access to the internet, and assistance with university and job applications. Madoda Mkalipi has coordinated this program since 2019. He said the programme is in high demand. There were an astounding 300 applications this year, but they could only accept 125 due to lack of physical…
By JOY HINYIKIWILE It is almost three weeks since the start of the third school term, and 15 Makhanda pupils have yet to return to school because they do not have reliable transport. The pupils, between Grades 4 and 11, live on farms in Sidbury and need to travel over 45km to their nearest public schools in Makhanda. Their latest transport issues began before the end of the previous school term when the bakkie that transported all 15 pupils – paid for by the families – broke down. “It was during exam time, but fortunately, our bosses were able to…
By JOY HINYIKIWILE Grade 12 learner Zimbini Sintwa, 17, made history when she became the first Ntsika learner to make it to the English Olympiad Top 10 in the First Additional Language category. Zimbini, who wrote the 2022 English FAL Olympiad paper in March, said she was shocked to be ranked tenth since this was her first time entering the competition. “I actually didn’t know how to feel when I found out about the results. I entered the competition because I thought I could write. I’m just amazed to have made it to the Top 10,” she said. Her goal…
By JOY HINYIKIWILE You have probably seen them in town or at the Settlers Monument playing traditional and popular South African sounds using marimbas. Four ex-prisoners – Andile Jaha (48), Zola Mqwebedu (37), Phumlani Sonwabe (37) and Thobelani Mali (33) – have been relentlessly sharing their music in the city. They were setting up their equipment at Peppergrove Mall when I asked to talk to them. The Makhanda men were serving prison sentences when they met and were taught to play the marimba. They came out of jail and decided to use their newly-learnt skill to turn their lives around.…
By JOY HINYIKIWILE In honour of Nelson Mandela Day, Makhandans were invited to a session of information sharing and discussion on the challenges they face in accessing information and finding work and the help they need to overcome these challenges. Organisations such as Harambee4Work, SA Youth, PSAM Africa, Oxfam SA, ECDC, Seda and Kagiso Trust made presentations about the kind of work they do in communities and then met with attendees for a question and answer session. The event, held at the Joza Indoor Sports Centre on Monday, 18 July, attracted residents of various age groups. It was organised by…
By JOY HINYIKIWILE and LIKHAPHA THAATHAA ASSITEJ South Africa – an alliance of organisations and individuals involved in promoting theatre for children and young people – celebrated its 15th anniversary at the Amazwi Museum of Literature during the National Arts Festival on 2 July 2022. It was a morning filled with children’s indigenous games, story-telling and playback theatre. The celebration continued with a session of reminiscing on the organisation’s 15-year-journey with its members and community members and sharing and receiving well-wishes from various ASSITEJ friends worldwide. ASSITEJ was founded in Paris in 1965 – the name ASSITEJ is the French…
By JOY HINYIKIWILE Rhodes University Community Engagement’s SD Cards project is appealing for more donations. The project donates 32 Gig SD cards loaded with study material to matric learners in no-fee paying schools in Makhanda. It raises money to buy the cards, which cost R110 each and loads them with relevant study material for learners. For 2022, the project aimed to raise enough money to donate 540 SD cards, which will cover every matric learner at all no-fee paying schools in Makhanda. So far, the project has donated 320 cards to three schools – Mary Waters, Nyaluza and Khutliso. It…