By SOLOMON MAVHUNGU A group of local Azanian People’s Organisation (Azapo) members recently held a silent protest demanding that a monument be erected at the makeshift roadblock on Grey Street where Steve Biko was arrested in Makhanda on 18 August 1977. Azapo also wants the entire length of Grey Street, Beaufort Street and Raglan Road, which runs through the town and into the township, to be renamed Steve Biko Road. The spot Biko was arrested on Grey Street on 18 August 1977. Photo: Azapo Facebook page Last Thursday, Azapo national president Nelvis Qekema handed over a memorandum to Mzobanzi Nkwentsha,…
Author: Rod Amner
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By KATLEGO NKOSI Born in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha), Heather Ferreira set her sails and studied teaching at UWC. This, however, was not her purpose. She was a born nurturer. This came so naturally to her. I sense this as I converse with her in her warm office. In her sweet but stern voice, she tells me about her second – and chosen – career. In 1990, she applied at the Livingston Hospital for a position she thought she could not get. The application became a seamless acceptance into the best training hospital at the time, coming with a four-year…
By ALYSSA HARRISON There is a bite to the air as Sisipho* sits on an upturned crate with a pillow over it. She pulls a yellow car guard vest over her jersey, her eyes darting as a car pulls up next to her in a parking space. A family walks into a nearby restaurant. “May I look after your car for you?” she calls. Their pace quickens. Their gazes are averted. Sisipho sits at the same street corner every day. Sometimes, people are kind enough to leave a tip. Others drive off without a word. There is no place for…
By ATHI NONDZABA Nina Vermaak is an occupational and yoga therapist who graduated from Stellenbosch University in 2018. In 2019, she moved to Makhanda to complete her community service year at Fort England Hospital, where she worked for three years before opening her own practice here. Occupational therapists work with people of all ages with various health issues. They work to adapt surroundings and tasks to help people live better with disabilities, injuries, or illnesses. Although Vermaak works with adults, her work mainly focuses on children between the ages of four and 16. She says she has always felt an…
By CHESLEY DANIELS Winning 15 out of 15 rugby games in the 2022 season is a rare and remarkable achievement. But, this is what the Graeme College U13 B’s recorded during the past school’s rugby season. The last full rugby season was back in 2019 when the U13B side won 12 games, and only one before the Covid-19 Pandemic halted all sports across the globe. U13B head coach Dylan Schneigansz is very proud. He has coached the U13B side since 2019. This season, eight of his players represented the U13A side, either on the bench as a replacement or due…
By NOLWAKHE YVONNE YVESLIGHT SEWELO Cold, rainy weather did not deter dedicated learners from turning out in numbers in their warm winter jackets for another spelling bee on 20 August. Enzokuhle Bekwa from George Dickerson Primary) took first prize, followed by Khazimla Georgefrom the same school in second. Lisa Mtipa from Grahamstown Primary) took third place. Jaylice Fritz and Ntombizandile Skere volunteered to serve as judges. Parents and peers supported their children despite the icy weather. YvelightMuse sponsored the prices and Ms Deana (Principal at Bumble Bee) assisted with some equipment. Thanks to the manager of Fingo Library, Ms Zandi,…
By PETER ROSE St Cyprian’s Church at Highlands is kicking off celebrations for its 130th anniversary at its Country Fair – the first since the Covid pandemic – on 11 September 2022. Celebrations will climax at next year’s Country Fair, held on the festival of the church’s Patron Saint, St Cyprian. The Fair starts at 11.30 am, immediately after the annual Patronal Eucharist Service at 10 am. A special event is taking place at the service this year. The Bishop of Grahamstown will dedicate a beautifully crafted Cedar Cross to the church’s founders. They had renovated an old stone building…
Hi-Tec security guard Ncedeka Fikizolo sits next to or in the little faded green house, observing her world on Rhodes campus as she has done for the past nine years. “My job requires me to be visible to students all the time even though they never actually see me. My presence provides reassurance,” she says. Her mantra is never to try to be a hero but always to remember that a student’s safety comes first. So it feels nice to get home where the babble of walkie-talkie noise is replaced by the chatter and laughter of her children. And where…
By BUKAMUSO SEBATA A group of friends dressed to the nines stumble through the red door that alternately swallows and spits out bodies on a quest to live out Mgarimbe’s iconic ‘Sister Bethina’. Shaky legs numbed out by the spirits of vodka and tequila, dazed eyes painted in hypnotising colours, pretty faces sculpted by friends playing painter. Moving to the popular youth anthem, they squeeze their way to the bar, drawn by the enchanting sirens of the spirits decked against the red wall. “Ufuna ntoni, chommi?” The question is repeated three more times with more attention paid to the lips…
By AIDEN DARIES Thrift store owner Diana Westcott greets all her customers with a smile, a happy heart, and an unfamiliar accent. Although not from these parts, she has been sewn into the town’s fabric since arriving from the UK in 1975. From one small village in Wales to another small town in South Africa. You could say she finds comfort in modest spaces. She says that travelling to a different continent on a 10-day cruise ship was “like one long party”. She found her husband in South Africa, and they moved to the then secluded city known as Grahamstown.…