By ALYSSA HARRISON “Unjani?” “Nam ndiphilile nkosi, unjani?” Nomaphelo Kate greets every student cheerfully as she dishes their food, from pizza to stew to pepper steak pie. She always makes sure to greet every student with just as much enthusiasm as the last. The clatter of pots and pans can be heard in the background, the kitchen abuzz with activity. Kate is part of the kitchen team at the Allan Web Dining Hall. From twenty past six every morning, she helps to prepare food and gets ready to serve it for the first flurry of students at seven o’clock. She…
Author: Rod Amner
By KEREN BANZA From the busy streets of Pretoria to the rich architecture of Makhanda, Karisna Bissett’s childhood spans different provinces, cities and towns, always on the move. Bissett was born in Pretoria, in a hospital long since forgotten. By age three, they had discovered an allergy to a ginger-white cat and moved to Amanzimtoti’s sandy beaches in KwaZulu-Natal. They got joy from playing various sports, including netball, tennis and swimming. Their father would catch fish for dinner until he took his last breath in front of confused seven-year-old eyes. A devastated family torn apart, Bissett was left with a…
By LINDA BINZI A daughter is left to grieve the absence of her hero. It is 389 days after her father died. She blames the world, she blames the doctors, she blames God, but most of all, she blames the virus. Her father’s death is still fresh in her head, his love still prominent in her heart, and she experiences the world with a little more bitterness. He was there one day, the next gone. No goodbyes. She remembers that day, her mother fell to the ground in tears, her brother flipped the table in anger, and her baby sister…
By AIDEN DARIES Chris Totobela is a household name in Makhanda, and rightfully so. “Molo Chris”, “Chris my brother”, and “Chris, how’s life treating you?” are what he hears as he travels to work. Totobela was “born, bred and buttered” in Makhanda. Growing up in the 80s, in a place where there were ongoing anti-apartheid protests, affected his childhood. Staying in his house and not having much time outdoors was unfamiliar to children back then, but that is exactly what he endured. Despite this lack of freedom due to the protests, he had a burning passion for football, and at…
Dear (conveniently anonymous by being a group) Grocott’s Mail editorial board, I can only assume that publishing a letter that advocates hatred and violence based on race and following it with an academic piece [editorial] that describes the subtleties of what you can and can’t be sued for goes under the banner of ethical journalism in your minds. I’m happy that you feel safe from being sued. I’m less happy that you thought it in the town’s best interests to publish Kota’s quoted (perhaps – as there are no quotation marks) words extolling violence as a necessity for cleansing society,…
Dear Editor, Serious interventions are needed to stop the deaths of our children when they embark on their traditional rites of passage into adulthood. A response to an oral question from the DA CoGTA MEC, Xolile Nqatha, revealed that we had lost 11 more lives this winter during the initiation season. Six deaths were recorded from the Mhlontlo Local Municipality, two from KSD Local Municipality, two from Ingquza Local Municipality and one from Buffalo City in Mdansane. These boys died from dehydration, septicaemia and gangrene. A further 119 initiates were admitted to hospitals due to customary male initiation-related complications. One…
By STAFF REPORTER Makhanda’s stressed rivers and streams are being given a lifeline by a grant from the United Thank Offering, a ministry of the Episcopal Church of the United States. The grant enables local non-profit organisations Awarenet and Inkululeko to support and strengthen the river cleaning operations of the Makhanda River Rescue group, which targets several waterways in the area. Rivers and streams in Makhanda have been neglected for decades through pollution, drought, littering and mismanagement. River Rescue remediates this by involving local communities – particularly youth – in cleaning up these rivers one square meter at a time. It…
By CHESLEY DANIELS SEDRU Regional League Log Leaders St Mark’s Alicedale and hosts Ndlambe Tigers ended their clash in a titanic 12-12 draw in Nemato, Port Alfred, on Saturday. The visitors took a narrow 7-5 lead at halftime. Tigers were indeed a much-improved team from the last outing when St Mark’s ran out comfortable 39-10 winners in Alicedale on 21 May. The draw saw St Mark’s finishing their allotted 16 games in the competition, and as it stands, they are top of the overall log standings with 61 points. According to the unofficial log, Rhodes are in second position with…
By CHESLEY DANIELS Flyhalf Mason Brooks contributed 16 points as he booted Kowie United to a 26-23 win over host Old Collegians (OC) in their second-round fixture of the EPRU SEDRU Regional League on Saturday at the Kingswood College Dold Field. Kowie also beat OC 29-10 in the first round of the competition at the Station Hill Sports Ground in Port Alfred on 21 May 2022. The win saw Kowie replacing Klipfontein in third position on the overall log, while OC remains in fifth. Both teams needed to adapt to the small junior field of Kingswood as the venue and…
By GAVIN GAKA Each night Rhodes student Thato Tsheole repeats to himself, “there will be better days”. When his eyes close, his mind is wide awake, looking for a way in which he can change himself on his quest for an illustrious legacy. Tsheole is equipped with a creative mind and a hunger he feeds while on his grind. Originally from Orange Farm, this hustlepreneur now walks the streets of Makhanda, hoping to find skills to help him realise his destiny. Tsheole is the first in his family in the hot pursuit of a degree and one of the few…