By Chris Totobela The home of local football, JD Dlepu Stadium, which recently hosted a successful Makana music festival, will now host the biggest sporting event in the local sports calendar. This year’s New Year’s Cup, the event’s ninth edition, kicks off on Monday the 23rd and will feature two curtain-raiser games. The programme will start with a draw at 10 am, followed by an opening ceremony at 11 am. The top local women’s football, which boasts seven regional titles, African Connection, will get a chance to test their rebuilt youthful side against a Sada women’s side at midday. Makhanda…
Author: Rod Amner
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By Chris Totobela The loud screams of a passerby woke up residents of Vellem Street in Joza on the weekend. When the neighbours ran out, they were greeted by huge flames coming out of a backyard flat. Neighbours rushed to the scene with buckets of their reserved water and struggled to put out the fire. The taps were dry, and one neighbour offered her Jojo tank water, which was all used over the next 30 minutes to extinguish the blaze. Luckily, there was no one inside the flat. Hi-Tec officers arrived at the scene and assisted by calling the fire…
By Chris Totobela The legendary Joza-based giants of local football XI Attackers will not participate in this year’s edition of the popular New Year’s Cup. This comes after they were not paid their prize when they finished as runners-up in the inaugural Superbowl Easter soccer tournament played over the Easter weekend, where they lost to the eventual winners, Maru FC. Speaking to GM on behalf of the club, executive member Mandilakhe Zabo confirmed the news: “We played in the final of the Superbowl during the Easter weekend and came second, but we never received our prize money until today. “We…
By Staff Reporter A pioneering three-day Education Journalism Think Tank will convene December 5-7 in Makhanda to address critical gaps in South Africa’s education news coverage and communication landscape. The event, jointly organised by Rhodes University’s School of Journalism and Media Studies (SJMS) and the Binding Constraints Lab (BCL), brings together media leaders, journalists, academics, education NPOs, government communicators, and civil society activists. Research by Think Tank keynote speaker Dr Vanessa Malila reveals that while education receives substantial media coverage, current reporting often normalises systemic problems through formulaic and episodic coverage, failing to engage citizens constructively. “We’re working toward a…
By Ndalo Mbombo “IsiXhosa is one of the most interesting languages in the world, and it deserves to be recognised worldwide,” proclaims Inam Elam Nkomo. Inam is a young South African storyteller zealous about preserving culture and African languages. In the potjie pot of her life, she has blended her seasoned dreams and ambitions with a rich and aromatic hope to tell stories of the communities in which she finds herself. It is a hope stirred up by uthando lwakhe lokubalisa amabali [her love for telling stories], a love nurtured by her father in her early childhood years. She watched…
By Mmathabo Bless Maebela “I feel like some coffee. Can I offer you some?” asks Gadra Education’s research and communications manager, Kelly Long, with a warm smile as I am welcomed into her office. “Yes, please, mam. Two sugars and no milk,” I reply. It is an unseasonably cold and rainy morning in Makhanda, so coffee is necessary. A few minutes later, she walks in with two cups of coffee and settles into her chair as the aroma of the coffee fills her office – a room that came to house an hour-long interview between her, an advocate for educational…
By Relebohile Mohapi I am in awe. I watch a teacher roll on the floor with her learners, showing them how to execute the dance move flawlessly. Her 13-year-old learners watch intently to reproduce the exact move she has just made. The girls gaze at her with trust in their eyes and fluid limbs. I can’t help but think back to yesterday when I questioned her in her colourfully-decorated classroom about her teaching journey. She retains the bright smile which greeted me the day before. Her energy remains the same: excited and ready to tackle the task ahead. Kerry-Lee Knott-Craig…
By Atlegang Seoka and Thubelihle Mathonsi As a young girl growing up in Pietermaritzburg, Lucky Xaba watched her grandmother welcome visitors with a soft smile and a soothing presence. She insisted that no guest should leave the house empty-handed. It never mattered who the guest was; they would always go home with something. Even on days when the pantry would be empty, her grandmother would extend a glass of water to her guests, saying, “Even if you have nothing, the least you can offer is water.” Xaba absorbed it all and grew to understand that there is a quiet dignity…
By Mohale Manyama and Sinesipho Habana Four teams of learners from two local high schools, Ntsika and Nyaluza, competed for glory at a lively and competitive literary quiz at the Rhodes School of Journalism and Media Studies (SJMS) on 11 October. The teams were quizzed on two Fundza novels, Blood Ties and Sugar Daddy, part of the popular Harmony High young adult book series set in a fictional township high school. The learners read the novels as a Reading and Writing Club (RAW) activity facilitated by SJMS Writing & Editing students. The four teams faced off against each other, with…
By Nozipho Maphalala, Afikile Kopo, Vuyisile Zandamela The Rhodes School of Journalism’s TV studio buzzed with excitement as Grade 12 Ntsika and Nyaluza High School learners gathered before the green screen for the first of a series of podcasts about human rights. The podcasts are the brainchild of Nosi Dosi, program organiser for local after-school NGO Inkulukeko, aimed at developing local youth’s citizenship and leadership skills. The podcasts were themes around our Bill of Rights (Chapter 2 of the South African Constitution) and explored how local youth could use these rights to their full advantage. Dosi hosted the podcasts. She…