By CHRIS TOTOBELA On Saturday, 25 September, boxers from all over the Sarah Baartman district exchanged leather in the district trials held at the Indoor Sports Centre in Extension 6. Boxing teams from Graaf Reinet, Kirkwood, Somerset East and Ndlambe represented their respective municipalities with Makhanda as the hosts. The event opened with an exciting bout between Makhanda’s Hlumelo Nelo and Othandwa Zono from Ndlambe municipality. Nelo made his intention very clear from the first minute, catching Zono with some severe blows. Zono tried to fight back but still could not handle Nelo’s punching power and speed. The referee had…
Author: Rod Amner
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By ROBYN APOLLUS On Heritage Day, the King Lobengula Foundation and the Imvelo Cultural Project will host a cultural event and environmental exhibition at the Princess Zila Lobengula Museum in Fingo Village. The exhibition will expose locals to the heritage of the late King Lobengula (1845–1894), the second king of the Matabele, and the Foundation’s waste management campaign (#HeritageResourcesRegeneration_CleanUp). Foundation founder, and Lobengula descendent, Sizwe Mda, has been working on this project for almost a decade – and moved from Johannesburg to Makhanda to make it a reality. He advocates the preservation of heritage sites like the three Lobengula graves in…
Awarenet & Joza Youth Hub In late August, Awarenet hosted a two-day robotics course at Joza Youth Hub. The purpose was to train community members to become robotics and coding trainers for local children. The course was a great success and received positive feedback. The participants will be ready to teach robotics by October. For more information, visit Awarenet’s website: https://www.awarenet.org/…/09/robotics-course-in-makhanda/ Some pictures have also been posted on Joza Youth Hub’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jozayouth The Lebone Centre The Lebone Centre has continued with its innovative programme of Book-Sharing and recently held workshops for Grade R learners and their parents at…
By DANA OSBORN The COVID-19 vaccination is one of the most heavily debated subjects globally. To reduce polarization, we are opting to refer to those who refuse to be vaccinated as vaccine-hesitant, rather than as anti-vaxxers. No matter which side you are on, it is almost guaranteed you will be on the receiving end of someone’s disapproval. As tensions increase, we find that fewer conversations are happening as lines are drawn in the sand. To continue the conversation, Grocott’s Mail posted an anonymous survey where individuals could share their views and perspectives on why they are hesitant about vaccines. The survey…
By SUE MACLENNAN Wholesalers and spaza shop owners in Makhanda are faced with possible losses of tens of thousands of rands following social media posts falsely claiming that a brand of chips made children ill. The Gauteng based manufacturer alleges the fake news is part of a smear campaign by a commercial rival to undermine the brand, and police are investigating its origins. To reassure the public that the popular corn snack is safe, the company shared laboratory tests. They have embarked on a province-wide campaign to educate school children about fake news and the pitfalls of social media. During…
By JESSICA FELDTMAN A blanket, a rattle, a squeaky toy, a mirror and ball, and of course loads of colourful baby books… All wrapped up in a locally designed Baby Treasure Box. At present, 22 households have received a Baby Treasure Box – delivered by Kaylenne Rushin and Anthea Davis, who were trained as home visitors by a local NGO, the Lebone Centre. The feedback from parents has been exceptionally heart-warming. “The parents are crazy about the boxes, and the children are just as excited,” Rushin exclaimed. Terry-Anne Scheepers is a young mother enrolled in the programme since she was…
By JOSIE MAKKINK South Africa, like much of the globe, is being continuously rocked by the choppy, uncharted waters of COVID-19. Its variants, popping up like ominous whack-a-moles, add to the chaos. We can no longer trust the consistency of the structures around us. With shifts in lockdown levels, the scope of permitted activities fluctuates as establishments close, open or function somewhere in between. People are mainly relying on their individual capabilities to regain a sense of normality within their lives. The pandemic has demanded a drastic increase in self-reliance from one group in particular: high school students. In the…
Reviews: Unam Wena by Mthunzikazi A Mbungwana and Ilifa by Athambile Masola By Dr LUKHANYO MAKHENYANE Reading Mbungwana and Masola’s poetry anthologies is like visiting a village after spending two decades in industrial cities. The moment you disembark and step out, your smiling face is greeted by a breath of fresh air that has been social distancing for the past twenty years. By this time, your lungs can tell you are in a different zone, and you can feel them taking huge gulps of fresh air. I had this kind of experience in reading Unam Wena by Mthunzikazi A. Mbungwana and…
By ROCHELLE THOMAS There were many explanations for the violent unrest that upended large swathes of Kwa-Zulu Natal and Gauteng in July: cynical ethnic mobilisation by Zuma loyalists, opportunistic criminality, mob rule. But, for the group of womxn that formed #CodeRed in the wake of the mayhem, these analyses lacked a feminist perspective. They asked, “How would a feminist who believes in a socially just, equitable and womxn-centred society look at these riots?” Soon after, they drew up their feminist statement. For them, the answers lay in South Africa’s deep social inequities. The needs of the poor are being overlooked…
Do you have a photo (and caption) that captures the spirit of Makhanda? Why not share it with the rest of us. Email: editor@grocotts.co.za