enterprise exposure magazine - sept/oct 2010

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2010 FEATURES

10.

19.

30.

57.

Maleesa Phommavongsay: Gorgeous Social Activist

Sihle Duma: Public Servant at your Service

Laura Thies: On film and theatre

Durban Metro SMMEs Fair Fashion SHow

23.

27.

40.

67.

Miranda Mokhele: life in the showbiz

Lwazi Mngoma: Featured Entrepreneur

Kwazi Mkhize: Telling our Stories

Hlumani Ndlovu: Academic Excel-lence

THE AVENUE FOR SUCCESS

September / October 2010

General News......................................................................9Green TaxSocial Scene.......................................................................10Lira Live in Concert, KYCC Youth ConferenceVarsity College fashion SHowDurban Metro SMMEs Fair fashion ShowCover...................................................................................13Maleesa PhommavongsayCareers:...............................................................................19Sihle DumaLaura Thies..........................................................................30Entertainment....................................................................23Miranda MokheleEntrepreneurial.................................................................27Lwazi MngomaOpinion..............................................................................34Thulani SinekeNomali Zondi.......................................................................39Analysis.............................................................................45Thabani MkhizePersonality..........................................................................40Kwazi MkhizeLifestyle.............................................................................48Nontombi NyandaZimele Ndlovu......................................................................49Sports.................................................................................52Thabo DladlaFood & Dining.....................................................................54Zen Africa: Savoury PastriesFashion...............................................................................57Durban Metro SMMEs Fair Fashion ShowPietermaritzburg fashion show.............................................71Academia............................................................................67Hlumani Ndlovu

“talk is cheap” ANDILE MNCUBE

MANAGING DIRECTOR/EDITOR

THABANI MKHIZE

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

CONTRIBUTORS

THULANI SINEKEZEN AFRICA CHEF ACADEMY OF

FOOD & WINE NONTOMBI NYANDA

DISCLAIMER:Where sources were not provided Enterprise Exposure Magazine de-clare and credit authors for images found on pages:9, 35, 36, 37, 38,

43, and 49.

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Regards,

Andile MncubeManaging Editor

CREDITS

Enterprise Exposure maga-zine is owned and published

by:

IN THIS ISSUE

NTERPRISE EXPOSURE MAGAZINEBombwave MediaP.O. Box 101048

ScottsvillePIETERMARITZBURG

3209

E D I T O R ’ S N O T E

On the cover of this issue the phrase “make things

happen” is perhaps what summarize this issue. In this issue we feature a variety of young and enterprising people who are making things happen for themselves and for others. These enterprising and successful individuals

who are featured in this issue do less talking, are full of action, and are succeeding in what they do. Talk is cheap! It’s easy for one to say that I want to do something but putting their plans into action is a completely different story. Some of the people who were featured in our previous issues have gone one or two levels up in their careers or have achieved something signifi cantly in their businesses. We congratulate them as they are proof that less talk gives one an opportunity to make things happen. Not only did we notice this “less talk” trend among individuals we have been working with but have also exercised this attitude ourselves. In October we celebrated our Editor-in-Chief, Thabani Mkhize’s birthday and his new title as resident analyst at Current affairs show of Mgungundlovu Radio 107.6 FM. We have forged some interesting partnership with vibrant organisations and individuals. we are delighted to inform you that these partnerships will be of benefi t to you as our valued realder. However, let me leave you in that suspense...

“Don’t be overly defensive” Truth is very uncomfortable sometimes, especially when it is told to you by a stranger. So the immediate reaction when confronted with bare facts is to become defensive. The unfortunate thing about defensiveness is that it masks the real issue and the focus shift to the person rather than the matter being discussed. In many ways this is how black people tend to react to criticism. We become defensive and assassinate the character raising such

criticism. There is this tendency to blame external factors to internal problems, which could be resolved with a little sense of responsibility. Until we learn to assess our actions fi rst and see how we have contributed to the problems we fi nd ourselves in, we are not going to progress very much. We may not determine with authority the problems we are likely to face, but we can control, to some degree, how we respond to those problems. People would justify their cheating on President Zuma’s polygamous relationships. That is just plain whack. How many people have presidents as role models? Not very many. Celebrities, yes, president nah! That’s why I couldn’t really believe that some seemingly smart people would argue that Thabo Mbeki committed AIDS genocide with his ‘denials about HIV causing AIDS. Yes as the President he should have acted responsibly, with humility and sensitivity to the plight of those dying from the disease. However does his actions excuse the initial behavior of those that contracted the disease because of their failure, say for instance to use protection? Of course some of you would be going


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there he goes falling into the trap, but work with me here. Yes I know not everyone who gets AIDS does so because of reckless sexual behavior. Americans did not lose their collective wisdom because they had an idiot for a President in George Bush. In fact politicians are generally not very bright. You can take any recordings of General Cele to disprove my assertion anyway if you so wish. What is this lecture about anyway, you ask?

Well, have you ever wondered why are black people are workers, who own little or nothing, everywhere in the world; regardless whether they are minority or majority, whether marginalized or in government? Oh don’t act all surprised, we joke about it all the time, so it would do you well if you could recoup your jaws from the fl oor. Am a going to be racial like that. Anyway Chika Onyeani has already said this, in his Book, The Capitalist Nigger. The problem with Black people everywhere in the world, he says, is that “they are all share the same disastrous tragedy of being consumers rather than producers. We all have propensity for things foreign to us”

We don’t invent shit, but do you know what we buy when we fi nally get money, not houses like other races. No. We buy chains, sneakers, expensive whiskey, cars (lots of them) and designer clothes. We have this innate pressure to indicate, rather fl amboyantly, that we have ‘arrived’. The imported the stuff the better, because foreign means better in our vocabulary. Life is a rat race for us. We feel the need to show our ‘oppressors’ (and all the haters, because there must always be haters) that we can afford the fi ner things in life just like them. For how will people recognize your independence and wealth if you do not exhibit it? Yep, that seems to be the logic am afraid to say.

The thing about success is that unless it is in your terms, then it’s a hoax. It can’t be success. If as a country you have won the right to govern yourself but every time you fail to educate your population, you blame the unfavourable trade relations with historical bias to the colonial oppressors but continue to indulge in excessive procurement of luxurious material possessions then am afraid you are independent only in theory. Certainly not in

your thinking ability and actions.

So, if you are a young black student or professional, you unfortunately carry the collective burden of everyone you happen to share a shin colour with; hence the generalisations and stereotype here. Your destiny become either you add into the stereotypes or you work towards changing them. There is nothing cool about forever being a servant to someone. At some point we must start owning the means of production. I had a glance at the Forbes Top 10 Richest Young People and I did not catch a black person there. It is important that we question our ability and why we are at the margins of the global economy and why Africa is a sight of calamity, you forever being part of some tragic statistics. It starts with us learning to hold ourselves accountable for our behavior before we use external circumstance as a justifi cation. Some of the mistakes we make can be avoided if only we could apply a bit of self-restraint, sober mind and cautious decision-making. Think about that the next time you receive criticism.

We have put together, what we believe to be an interesting read with some focus on heritage and academia. We bring you Kwazi Mkhize talking church and public policy; Laura Thies all the way from Germany; Hlumani Ndlovu and his remarkable journey to PHD at UCT, only at 24; Miranda Mokele, Sihle Duma amongst others. We hope enjoy this issue. All the best to our readers who are writing exams.

I would like to congratulate my colleague, Managing Editor of this magazine, Andile Mncube for his recent appointment into a new position at the M&E Unit of the Department of Social Development, together with our friend Ncengi Shezi. Their growth gives testament and credibility to our assertion that we are THE AVENUE FOR SUCCESS

Regards

Thabani Mkhize,

Editor-in-Chief

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Your avenue to Say...LETTER OF THE MONTH

“Love conquers all” it doesn’t

The key to a successful re-lationship doesn’t end with loving the person you with, it requires effort and planned action, therefore it is on this premise that I beg to differ with the notion that “love con-quers all”. Loving your partner and being able to sustaining a relationship are two different things. Love alone is not suf-fi cient to hold a relationship together, there are challenges in relationships and they come in different forms, shapes and

size, and speaking directly to Sqeda’s article yes the situation will prove to be more daunting if there is a child in a relationship.

Falling in love is never diffi cult. In fact it is a spontaneous ex-perience and one doesn’t have to do anything at all. Howev-er keeping a relationship intact is not easy and it defi nitely is not spontaneous, it requires planned action from both parties, once the euphoria of love fades. It is an inevitable fact that every relationship has cycles and processional in nature. In the next phase, after the excitement of “falling in love” somehow defl ated, everything just becomes a problem (phone calls, the partners idiosyncrasies, the baby mama’s contact, even being bothered by the relationship between your man and his children) at this stage you both have to consciously devise coping and survival mechanisms for your relationship to execute together and individually, failing which this is the stage where most rela-tionships breakdown.

The male partner will have to draw boundaries for the baby mama and make her fully aware that there is a another woman in his life; the new girlfriend must not try to compete with the kid for attention because the relationships are just not the same; for the sake of the children, don’t introduce the child to the new girlfriend until you are sure of where the relationship is going, otherwise the child will be introduced to every Tom, Dick and Harry; the woman will have to love and accept the partners chil-dren because they will always be part of their lives and avoid fi ghting with them even if provoked; the man will just have to be fi rm and intolerant in disciplinary action towards a behaviour unbecoming from the kids to the new partner especially if the kids are older. Lastly the baby mama and the current girlfriend DO NOT have to have a relationship at al. So it on the reasons stated that I believe love will not conquer the day to day chal-lenges of a relationship but it takes time, effort, and energy and most importantly, it demands WISDOM to know what to do to make it work. Avenue

Nneileng KomaPMB

L E T T E R S

INSPIRATION, INSPIRATION, INSPIRATION… That’s how I can summarise my emotional response to your August Is-sue-INSPIRATION. I use capital letters enthusiastically to signify the im-measurable weight of INSPIRATION I derive from Enterprise Exposure. The fi rst-coming of this Mag gave me nothing but INSPIRATION; not just for me as an individual but for the future of this country’s youth. Thanks for fulfi lling my appetite, thanks for fulfi lling my thirst. Whoever can with the notion of ‘diminishing marginal utility’ has some serious rethinking to do. I have it in good authority that the utility [INSPIRATION] I derive from consuming the content of this mag will escalate to a point of no return. The phrase “South Africa, Africa and the world require a new genera-tion of thinkers, visionaries and entrepreneurs…” by Thabani Mkhize is precisely what captured my imagination for a vibrant now and tomorrow. Team Enterprise Exposure, I have three words for you: “INSPIRATION, INSPIRATION, and INSPIRATION”. Regards,Musa WakaZamisa

We thank you for your glowing praises. Whilst it motivates us a great deal, it also impresses upon us a responsibility to produce a high quality read. We accept this responsibility with humility and fully appreciative of the challenges that lies ahead.

It took me months to get my Exposure, August copy, as my pc was on service delivery strike but fi nally I have fi xed my eyes on yet another creative and innovative excellence. You guys keeps growing higher and higher. Reading Musa's story reminded me why I bought THE LAN-GUAGE OF ME in 2005, the brother man is a true inspiration and a good lesson that in most times it’s not the person who is disable, but the world that we live in, as said in his book.They say behind every man's success, there's a woman so I fully agree with you Andile, woman are indeed a cornerstone of our society Thabza you couldn’t have said it better, this country is in dire need of great think-ers and visionaries. It’s a shame that most of them are still busy search-ing for divine intervention in the bottle. HIV/AIDS is a human rights issue like Madiba said. So it’s up to us as what we do about it. Do we stand up and fi ght this pandemic head-on or we wait for the government to tell us about garlic’s and beetroots. HIV is real, circumcised or long sleeved, so KONDOMISE. RESPEC!!!!! RESPECTWell done guys and keep exposing the success out of the YBG’s (young black and gifted) Nkosikhona Zulu

Nelspruit, Mpumalanga.

Mageba, thank you for your letter. It was the same sense of inspiration which we fi nd in Zulu’s writing that made us profi le him in our August Issue. Our society would not be where it is if it’s not for the sacrifi ce women make on daily basis. It is our duty now as men, in particular, to ensure that we raise a generation of men that is not selfi sh. Men that understand that your mom is a what she is today because she decided to look after you instead of abandoning you like some do. We must grow to be responsible individuals and enterprising in ideas.

Connect with us:

[email protected]: Enterprise Exposure Magazine

Editor:082 817 0855

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FORUMS

NEWS AND COMMENTARYSouth Africa, under the Zuma administration is experiencing some sort of upheaval as result of political infi ghting, the widen-ing cleavages in the tripartite alliance, and the proposed media appeals tribunal. Follow Thabani Mkhize’s weekly posts on poli-tics, commentary, sports and social features.

BUSINESS AND CAREERSAs youth we are under tremedous pressures to fi nd creative ways as solutions for dealing with the shrinking job market, the volatility of the currency and the lack of robust legislation to bring about rapid reform on economic opportunitues for the youth. Follow our discussions around business and careers and our profi ling of individuals who are making things happen for themselves.

COMMENTS AND FEEDBACKWe will never stop reminding you, our valued and important reader that Enterprise Exposure Magazine is “Your Avenue For Success” therefore we also use this platform to give you the op-portunity to interact with the magazine by giving comments and feedback on issues which we discuss.

EVENTS PHOTOGRAPHYrunning up to the fi nal production of an issue we profi e events and post pictures into our Facebook Page. In this way we are making it easy for you to access these photos and caption them. We use those captios which you have provided when we feature them in our Events Feature

S O C I A L M E D I A

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G E N E R A L

GREEN TAX

The recently implemented emissions tax will have you digging into your pocket for a few thousand Rands extra to add on the purchase price of your new car.

The carbon dioxide (CO2) vehicle emissions tax, which came into effect on September 1 is implemented as a specifi c tax and not as an ad valorem tax, says National Treasury.

New passenger vehicles taxed based on their certifi ed CO2 emissions at R75 per g/km for each g/km above 120 g/km.

The CO2 emissions tax was expected to encourage South Africans to move towards more energy-effi cient and environmentally friendly vehicles.

There are certain concerns among car dealers in the country citing the unreadiness of our fuels specifi cations. Therefore the import of environmentally friendly vehicles is not an option for most.

Alex Niezen, Sales executive at CMH Pietermaritzburg says that their deals on motor cars have increased by an extra R2000 since the implementation of the emissions tax. He also says that buyers are not feeling this slight increase.

Pay for your emmission

In our August issue we featured Mbali Mbatha, a model from KZN now based in Johannesburg. Mbali entered the Kick-Off Soccer Babes Model Search for 2010. Mbali made it to the top ten. She thanks you for your support and voting for her.

“ I made it to the top ten list and to me that’s a huge achievement and it also add weight on my profi le”

-Mbali Mbatha, October 2010-

Thanks for votingGENERAL News

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Listen to the Voice

of Reason

Talk is cheap! Listen to talk that is prime. Our Editor-in-Chief, Thabani Mkhize, is live on uM-gungundlovu 107.6 FM as resident analyst in this sation’s Current Affairs Show. We have been re-ceiving many positive responses about the show but you have to tune in to the show every Mon-days between 6:00 and 7:00 pm and jugdge for yourself on the value that Thabani is adding to the show.

LIRA LIVE IN CONCERT:OLYMPIA HALL, SHOWGROUDS, PIETERMARITZBURGFriday 27 August was abuzz in at the Show Grounds when South Africa’s fi rst lady of Soul Music, LIRA graced the city of Pietermaritzburg. Music and lifestyle lovers came out in their numbers to the concert organised by Gatsheni Enertainment where LIRA kept the entire audinece dancing for three hours to her soulful jazz and afropop sounds.

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DURBAN SMMEs FAIR:Durban Exhibition Centre: Durban Lovers of fashion and lifestyle came out in numbers to witness the spectacular Durban Metro SMMEs Fair Fashion Show, a star-studded ivent where durban reaffi rmed itslef as a global city for KZN

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KYCC YOUTH CONFERENCE AND GALA DINNER: Durban Exhibition Centre: Durban

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The KwaZulu Youth Chamber of Commerce hosted a Youth Entrepreneurship Conference at EThekwini Community Church in August. The Conference was offi cially opened by Mayor of EThekwini Metro, Obed Mlaba. MEC for Economic Development and Tourism, Mr. Mike Mabuyakhulu delivered the key note address. Outgoing Chamber President, Sandile Dlamini; Director of Youth Affairs in the Offi ce of the Premier: Ms. Gugu Simelane and Mr. Thami Zondi, Department of Economic Development and Tourism were also amongst the speakers. Before the Conference, a new KYCC leadership was elected, led by the new President, Vuyani Majola. Several other prominent leaders graced the gala dinner and a fashion show held later on.


Born to adversity and experiencing

discrimination and prejudice caused

her to live a quiet and shy childhood

but has grown up to be a mouthpiece

of the youth, the vulnerable and the

needy. She has touched many lives

in her country and other countries;

Has started a non-profi t movement

which connects the youth and

fundraises for many causes intended

to uplift communities and educate

the youth; Has traveled to Africa

and has been involved in volunteer

exchange programmes with South

African organizations; and is taking

advantage of social media such as

facebook by connecting with people

in many part of the world to become

part and donate to charity. It is

something we fi nd extraordinary that

all this hard work and selfl ess giving

leaves MALEESA POMMAVONGSAY

feeling that she is living a life which

is better than she could ever imagine

and is still able to enjoy herself as a

young woman and keeping herself

looking gorgeous at all times. ANDILE

MNCUBE connected with Maleesa to

learn about her life and understand

her passion.

M A L E E S A P H O M M A V O N G S A YGORGEOUS SOCIAL ACTIVIST

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C O V E R

CONTINUE ON / NEXT PAGE...

You live in Montreal, what is Montreal like? Is it comparable to a South African city, say Cape Town or Johannesburg?I wouldn’t know how to compare Montreal

because I haven’t really lived like an everyday resident in Cape Town, since I was residing in Khayelitsha township, but there are some similarities in terms of lifestyle of the people in these cities. Oh, let me say that I truly miss the beauty Mother Nature blessed Cape Town with. I have rarely seen such beautiful sceneries through my travels and wish for those natural treasures to be rightfully shared with the San people’s descendants and also protected at the same time.

You have an interesting Facebook Bio, which reads: “The world is my heart, I try to take care of it and heal it... I’m Laotian, Asian and will always be. I believe in true love and love”. Can you elaborate on that?

I love discovering cultures, in all of its complexity, the visible and invisible. Living in Montreal and having wonderfully diverse friends since childhood was a good thing, but since my fi rst introduction to international cooperation through a women’s leadership Canada World Youth program, I always try to seek for unique intercultural experiences rather than being the tourist. I have a lot of love to give away and through my travels, I have discovered this little girl, all these little girls, women, kids, daughters, brothers, grandmothers...all this humanity living within me! Everywhere I have gone, I have seen myself through all kinds of skin color tones, eye shapes, hair textures and dialects. As a result, I feel called upon to ‘’make the world

a better place’’ to live, for now and the next generations...and as for any leader, you need to treat yourself as your own best friend and take care of your overall well-being: rest when you need to, congratulate yourself, eat and exercise well, think positive, etc. Growing up as a cultural visible minority in Canada was quite diffi cult for me back in the days and I had a period during teenage life when I was denying my Asian roots, but learning the rich history behind my family’s past generations made me embrace my heritage with pride. Lastly, I believe love from a pure heart is the answer to a lot of situations like tensions, social confl icts and suffering.

You hold a Bsc Degree in psychology, tell us more about your educational background?

I graduated from the Université du Québec à Montréal and loved it there because I had been active in student associations and took up volunteering opportunities. My favorite subjects within psychology were intercultural psychology, community psychology, clinical and creativity. Although I have obtained a quite satisfying average, I can say that I hadn’t learned that much through the years of reading books, passing exams and handing written work compared to all that I have learned working straight on the fi eld with real people and real situations. I have recently obtained a college equivalent in Community development and intercultural relations from doing the Canada World Youth exclusive program through South Africa. I am presently taking courses in Business startup to develop myself into social economy fi elds.

About Yourself: I grew up in a poor

community of majorly

white poor people.

Due to circumstances of discrimination I had become a very quiet child in public, but kept

my lively and playful self at home. Some thought I was mute and I had even developed

severe eczema partly because of the stress of being the only Asian everywhere. I still

have a shy side to me, but I’ve learned to brush it off when it’s not favorable.

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You are only 27 but have done a great deal of work on social facilitation and community development. Your involvement tells us that you are passionate about youth activism. Tell us about that.

I’ve been inspired to work with youth ever since I got involved as a facilitator for The Media Kidocracy Konference (MKK) in collaboration with Bush Radio, a young convention designed to bring together media experts and young people between the ages of 13 to 18 to talk about world issues and development goals. Since then, I have founded a non-profi t for youth movement called montrevolutional, which aims to be a WebTV about young revolutionaries of our society.

When did you visited South Africa what were were you doing? How long were you here? How was your experience of South Africa? How are the people like? What places did you see in South Africa?

I was in South Africa, Khayelitsha for a Women’s leadership cultural exchange program and informal education. We were 9 Canadian women from different provinces who had received 6 South Africans and 3 Kenyans for three months of volunteering in Calgary and then it was our turn to experience Khayelitsha and come to help within different communities. We were paired into different volunteering placements and mine came to be at Feedback Food Redistribution. It was very interesting because aside of the physical work of loading and unloading trucks with meat, fi sh, candies, veggies and fruits we also had the chance to visit other townships and corners around Cape Town. The gap between the rich and the poor, within only some minutes of driving away was unbelievable. We got to visit aids centers, orphanages, ex-prisoner readaptation centers, elder’s retirement houses and many other organizations with pure hearts dedicated to the most in need. Basically, we were taking food donations from food companies and redistributing it in townships, often within the same day. Paradoxically, in a pretty wealthy city like mine, many companies prefer to leave their stocks to rot than to redistribute it to the hungry, out of fear and because of strict laws. My experience in South Africa was mind blowing and eye opening. I would love to come back.

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>MALEESA REMAINS GORGEOUS ON OVER AND ABOVE HER ACTIVISM

How did you fi nd Khayelitsha? Is it comparable to any of the townships in Canada?

I found Khayelitsha quite scary on my fi rst day when I had encountered, on my way to buy electricity with my host sister, a dozen of young men drinking, in the afternoon, on the streets. Usually, I very rarely see people drinking on the streets as if nothing, add to that, in the afternoon. As soon as they saw me, they all started surrounding me and called me ‘’china’’, asking me where I had landed from. One was nicknamed Seven up, another, Tupac. Then, they forced me to drink what they were holding and insisted that we would smoke drugs together that night. I had to drink whatever was in their glass for them to let me go, as they were holding my wrists. Fortunately, it was just beer, in a rather muddy glass and I never saw them again. I got a bit scared from that fi rst arrival day, being told that Khayelitsha was a pretty dangerous area, but the rest of my stay was quite wonderful. The people are very friendly and it’s like a big family. I loved to walk through the streets and meet up young kids. At the end of the program, the kids were all chanting my name through the streets. I was very lucky to have a very lovely and heartwarming host family, Didi and Mama Sigonya. They have been my doors through xhosa culture. I don’t think Khayelitsha is comparable to any place in Canada. One of my dreams is to build a youth center there as I had been listening to the youth’s preoccupations for their future. What I took with me from my volunteering stay is the spirit of togetherness, the brotherhood, sisterhood and enjoyment of simple things like eating in the living room together as a family.

Will you be coming back anytime soon?

Yes, I have kept in touch with my Xhosa host family and past work colleagues and would love to see them again. I am in the process of fi nding a way to come work for the empowerment of communities and stay longer for the next year. Please cross your fi ngers for me! I don’t want to be covered in snow this year.

You seem to be changing the world by making a difference around you. Tell us about some of the achievements which you have made in the lives of people?

My fi rst experience of really helping someone was my part-time job as a domestic cleaner while studying in college. I was taking care of a young woman who had been recuperating from a cranium traumatism out of a car accident. When I got into

university, I decided to take it further and to learn about general psychology although my parents had prepared me to take one of those ‘’lucrative and glamorous careers ‘’ instead. The most learning I have done through four years on the class benches were about myself, how I became the person I was and then, I could understand how others might have developed their personality, attitudes and social environments. I’ve worked in psychology research for those organizations that infl uence decisions for the masses and other counselors to get the right knowledge and pulse of the people living either with mental disorder. For my own Asian people, I’ve pushed students to take leadership and make them conscious of their cultural backgrounds in diverse aspects that sometimes are invisible to the eye. I became president of the cultural association of my university and since then, I always try to be a good role model for young Laotian people by encouraging them into social initiatives.I have pulled through a documentary screening about Ugandan child soldiers with no budget and did some pretty daring things like sleeping like a homeless in town for a night to collect funds for a non-profi t working for the homeless. Nowadays, I work as a community counselor for poor communities in Montreal, aiming at the 15 to 35 year olds and I am also running a youth organization which uses social medias, arts, culture and community sense to empower the youth. We are in the process of making short videos about many social local initiatives for the youth to see that there is hope for the future and that they can contribute into making our society a better place to live for all. Often, the difference we make in people’s lives, we are not aware of it until someone actually tells you about what you’ve done.

Your chosen career fi eld is a road less traveled by many youth. People choose lucrative and glamorous careers. How do you fi nd the balance between satisfying the demands of your youth in your personal life and working with poor communities?

Balance is key in life. Having an agenda is a good start because being organized is necessary when you have to deal with chunks of information and contacts. Sometimes, you will lose balance for weeks and months and accept being drained because you want to reach those goals you set for yourself and your people. In my career fi eld, we need to take time off and resource back because we are the ones who accept to see, live and work with sometimes the most inhumane of situations. We accept to put ourselves under people’s circumstances whether it’s the loss of a parent, drug abuse, a raping trauma or diffi culty integrating a

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new country. It is a lot of stories and ‘’negative’’ energy we must take out from the person, take into our understanding and then transform into something constructive. When you are good at that and you do it on a regular basis, eventually, you will need to take care of your spirit. For me, I am blessed because I have wonderful people around me who fi ll my life with soul food and it is part because of them that I can give the best of me to others. Balance also takes a lot of introspection, moments of refl ection between actions.

You use social media such as facebook to communicate your course. Do you think that people who use facebook and other

social media care about charity and community development and social upliftment?Most of my donation requests through facebook for the needy have been successful. I collected sports equipment for the youth to stay active and healthy, clothing for them to stay warm during winter and also organized events about socio-cultural topics to stimulate discussions. All kind of people use facebook, in different ways and for diverse reasons and purpose. Some people care about community development, justice and social advancement and some don’t, but those who do, will recognize themselves and connect further. I like to use anything on my hands to try to help others and it turns out that technology and social medias are

excellent tools for that. The future of philanthropy is transforming itself since the venue of online money donations for charities, the use of internet for social justice and political transparency. Using social medias and communication technologies can prove to be great, but you need constant updates, active listening, traffi c analysis and the web behaviors have to be transformed into real life concrete actions. All of that needs to be created, transformed, evaluated, and thrown back again until it starts giving results into

communities in need.

What is your take on the story of Brandon Huntley, given the fact that you have been to South Africa, especially Cape Town, where Huntley is from?

I think the Board made a wrong decision part because of ignorance about South Africa. Also, the board seemed to have

>MALEESA AND HER FAMILY IN KHAYELITSHA

been led by one person only and the details of Mr. Huntley claims didn’t seem to have been verifi ed. In general, people who have never been to Africa have these kinds of stereotypes and nasty images in their minds because of mainstream media, which uses sensationalism to sell images of blacks being violent, poor and harsh keep being overplayed like the American September 11. It’s all part of the neocolonial mindset and the average citizen doesn’t make the effort to search the truth further back in history to really understand the complexity of social tragedies. The Board might as well grant refugee status to all who have been affected by apartheid and still do to this day. A refugee is a person who is owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. I believe there is much persecution running over most youth living in townships, which they also can’t escape from and the government is also not protecting their rights.

What did you learn about visiting South Africa and what do you think South Africans can learn about Canada?

I have learned that Africa is closer than I thought, that the Earth is a small world after all and that we are all comparable and similar. I have learned that ‘’family’’ can go beyond blood and genes. I have learned that you can never really truly know about a different country unless you really go there to see for yourself and meet, live with the real local people. They will gladly show you the beauties of their culture and share with you even their last piece of bread, literally and if ever danger is nearly, they will protect you as their own. I have learned from South Africa that change is possible. I don’t know what South Africans can learn about Canada other than that Canada needs to learn quite a lot from South Africa. They can learn that we are very fortunate, except for the weather.

Are you living the life you have always wanted? What are some of your unfulfi lled ambitions? What do you plan to achieve in the next fi ve years?

No, I am not living the life I have always wanted. I am actually living better than I could ever imagine because I am living truly with my heart and in sync with my moral values. I used to live a very fulfi lled but regular life, with entirely my mind, society’s

demands and rationale until I discovered the real meaning of creativity, the power of the mind and the use of freedom. I have not fulfi lled all of my ambitions yet, but I am happy with where I am right now according to my personal priorities, values and beliefs. I also believe that ambitions and goals are very dynamic. It is important to have ambition, whatever your age or career stage. In the next fi ve years, I plan to be a fi erce young international social entrepreneur dedicated to various causes throughout Asia and Africa. I might also apply for a masters or doctorate in order to reinforce my credentials and I would like to fi nd a life partner who will love, cherish and honor me for who I am...so we can start raising young global citizens.

What advice do you have for the youth who aspire to be like you?

Don’t waste any opportunity and if you do, create some more by provoking your future. Be deaf sometimes, especially when you hear comments

that pull you down. Search all that you want to do before you die and make a list, every year. Get rid of lame excuses pertaining to time, money and fear right when they start popping. Learn to catch and neutralize them away by analyzing your everyday thoughts. Get lost in something you are curious about. Have fun seeking out your limits and you will discover infi nite possibilities. Trust your instincts and aim to show your heart. -END-

“I AM ACTUALLY

LIVING BETTER

THAN I COULD

EVER IMAGINE

BECAUSE I AM

LIVING TRULY

WITH MY HEART

AND IN SYNC

WITH MY MORAL

VALUES”

Follow Maleesa on Facebook to learn more about her course and her activismf

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You grew up in a rural area with a mud school build-ing and with minimal educational and no recreational facilities but went on to obtain a Master Degree in the United States. that is a remarkable feat, what inspires you? Firstly, it is a huge honour for me to be part of this month’s publication of EXPOSURE. This editorial is indeed a voice of our aspirant future leaders.

I always draw my inspiration from circumstances within which I grew up as a well as experiences I had when I was a child. I was born and raised by a sin-gle parent who worked as a domestic worker for 20 years. In my entire life I never met my father until he passed away in the summer of 2003. I was told by my mother that he left us when I was 4 months old. Growing up without a father in a very patriarchal community where everything Revolves around male dominance is something that no one wishes for. Most of my childhood friends, for example, had their fa-thers and their families were better-off by far as com-

AT YOUR

SERVICE!

SIHLE DUMA Public Servant

From the mud schools of the neglected and re-mote rural area of Mjila in Donnybrook, arrest-

ed between Bulwer and Ixopo, has emerged Sihle Duma, a shrewd and articulate pub-lic management specialist, to render service support services to KZN Parliament, the august institution, where the hopes of the masses rest. Here he shares his life and passion for public service with Thabani Mkhize.

C A R E E R

pared to mine. My friends would boast about a new pair of shoes, a gun toy or a packet of candy that their fathers have bought them. Those were the things that I hardly had, if I happened to have one, it would be a second hand toy given to me by white children where my mother worked. I remember when I was doing STD 4; from time to time I would visit my mom be-cause she worked at a nearest village called Creight-on. What happened on that day changed my entire life till today. Mr Bosse (her boss) had a workshop where he would fi x motorbikes, tractors etc, on that day there was a huge tractor whose engine wanted a lot of manpower. My mom was therefore called upon from the kitchen to help and lift it. Obviously she got irritated because she had a lot of things to do inside the house. Apart from that, the engine was too heavy for just the four of us including the gardener. She then told Mr Bosse that she couldn’t lift it. Mr Bosse suddenly got angry and shouted at her consistently until she broke into tears. She wept for sometime. I felt so bad to see somebody I had always respected. Somebody I had always regarded as my icon being humiliated that way in front of me. From that day, I took a decision that I wanted to pursue my education to make things right for her and my family. Such ex-periences still propel me even today to do what is right in the face of the harsh realities of life. In life many things happen outside of our control. Sometimes fate decides for us but most importantly it is the decisions that we make for our selves that can help us become what we want to be.

What makes you wake up every day and what are your future aspirations?As a public servant, what makes me wake up is to have an assurance that everyday, in one way or the other, I am given an opportunity to serve my coun-try. I am given an opportunity to change somebody’s life for the better. Going forward, I think of myself as somebody who has been called upon to serve this na-tion. I want to be known as one of the most respected managers within the fi eld of public administration in the entire world.

What were the main lessons that you absorbed from your overseas experience

As much as most Americans are ignorant about the other parts of the world, but if there is a lesson that I learnt was their openness, their willingness to help whenever there is a need. Importantly, I liked the idea that not everything should be done by government. In many parts of America people work very hard to cre-ate their own wealth. The university that I went to had hundreds of student-run non-profi t organisations that were rendering support services to local communities. So the spirit of volunteerism is deeply entrenched in the American populace

You are very passionate about public service and con-tributing towards a better South Africa, what informs such a stance? I love this country. It is amazing to see what we have achieved within the period of 16 years. We have come a long way to be where we are as a nation. This coun-try is indeed alive with possibilities. You can be what-ever you want to be. There are so many people who lost their lives for this country to be free today. Each and every one of us is, therefore, called upon to con-tribute toward the betterment of South Africa. I fi nd joy in what I do because I know that I am making a difference somewhere.

You work in the provincial legislature of KZN; please can you tell us what exactly does your job description entails?

The KZN Legislature is tasked with, amongst other things, playing oversight role over the executive, make laws as well as allow public participation in our legislative processes. In that view, the support staff is called upon to augment these core functions through the provision of technical expertise. I work as a program evaluator. My work involves analysing institutional programs to ensure that we get a return on investment from any resources that we deploy. We aspire for an effi cient utilization of public resources through continuous improvement of our internal busi-ness processes. In a nutshell, I am tasked to create and locate opportunities of public value by assessing and evaluating our services.

What made you choose this career path and what sort of educational training is suitable for the nature of

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your job?In many ways the circumstances within which I grew up helped in terms of pursuing a career in the public serv-ice. Growing up in a very remote and underdeveloped area shaped my career path. It then came to my mind that if I were to contribute toward the betterment of my local community, a career in the public service would be more desirable. I’ve always regarded working for the public sector as a calling to serve the nation. There is nothing more fulfi lling than to serve your nation. In terms of ed-ucational credentials, any qualifi cation in public policy and administration, monitoring and evaluation, political science and economics is desirable.

In the past, being a public servant was something of a privilege, but nowadays, young people in particular are not as enthusiastic about working in the public sector, why is this so?

Young people of today belong to the generation group called “the Y Generation”. They are driven by change

and better ways of doing things. They don’t want to be doing one and the same thing all the time. Unfortunately, in most government agencies, the environment is rigid and not conducive for vibrant change because of stand-ardised operating procedures to maintain compliance and consistence. Now that often clashes with the para-digm within which the youth operate. Importantly, the recruitment processes in government sometimes tend to be cumbersome and a bit frustrating for our young people. But these are the things that are currently being addressed and tackled head on across the government spectrum

Some people who work for important institution such as parliament rarely take time to refl ect upon the sig-nifi cance of their job? Do you realise your potential to effect change on the provincial landscape, political or otherwise?

Of course, I take my job very seriously and I always strive for making a difference each day. The Legislature

is one of the most important institutions in the province, and whatever we do has an impact on the province as a whole.

There has been a lot of discussion around whether the party list system should be replaced by a direct constitu-ency election, where each area vote for their representa-tive as opposed to the party deploying their members to parliament as determined by the number of seats at-tained. What is you take on this discussion?

Direct representation is always good in the sense that an-yone can have an opportunity to be in power. Were it not for direct representation, I don’t think President Barack Obama would have become president of the United States. I think it makes sense to account to the people who elected you than to account to a political partySeptember is a heritage’s month in SA, what forms of heritage should we preserve and how can young people balance modernity and some of their customs derived from the cultural heritage?

In order to know where you are going, you must know

where you come from. It is therefore crucial that we pre-serve our heritage because it forms part of our identity as Africans. Of course there are things that are repugnant that we need to change or get rid of. We can always in-corporate our best cultural practices into modernity.

There are confl icting perceptions of South Africa’s role in Africa: Big brother or the regional superpower (neo-imperialist), what would be the appropriate diplomatic posture for the Republic to adopt in relation to the con-tinent?

Undoubtedly, South Africa is the region’s superpow-er and by that virtue, it is called upon to lead in many aspects. Through various platforms which include the temporary membership of the UN’s Security Council as well as being the member of the G20, the Republic has played a key role in terms of ensuring that the interests of the continent are well represented. Through NEPAD, South Africa plays a signifi cant role in facilitating and promoting trade and development throughout the conti-nent. I therefore think we already have fundamentals in place we can only build on them going forward.

C A R E E R

Every month we bring you an entertainer, in this issue, Enterprise Exposure Managing editor, Andile Mncube spoke to Miranda Mokhele about life in the showbiz.

MOKHELE MIRANDA

Life In The Showbiz

>MIRANDA REGISTERED HER MARK IN THE SHOWBIZ WHEN SHE APPEARED IN MTHUNZINI.COM

I know that you were born to parents of mixed races, what does that mean to you and your identity?

I was born to a white dad (from Germany, migrated to South Africa) and a Sesotho mom. My mom died when I was really young- so my dad brought me up. He was my mom and my dad. I used to get quite a bit of fl ack from the Xhosa kids at school about having a white dad and wanting to be black. I was always judged for speaking incorrect Xhosa. But in general life as a mixed race child was pretty great as I had the best of both worlds- I could be anything that I wanted to be and hang out whomever I wanted to hang with. The other great thing is that I never saw colour when I spoke to anyone so that helped as I had an open mind about everything.

Continue on next page...

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EXPOSURE 23

You studied music, tell me about your qualifi cation.

I studied at AFDA Johannesburg (BA Live Performance), my fi rst major was music, second acting, and third was script writing.)

What other skills have you acquired other than those related to music and performing?

I own a children’s acting agency. I try and procure jobs for little children that want to get into the industry. I have a business mind (I take after my dad).

You have appeared in Mthunzini.com, Tshisa, and Rhythm City, tell us about those roles, their diversity and the demands of portraying them.

My fi rst role on TV was mthunzini.com as Lisa. It was a very small role – but I loved it as I got to rub shoulders with well known people in the industry. It also taught me a lot about being on set. The great things about these roles are that they are very

diverse- which is lovely because people in our country get type casted sometimes. Being on Tshisa was a challenge as I had to speak Xhosa most of the time and correctly-no street terms. As for Rhythm City, it was lovely being on there; it was my fi rst multi camera production since varsity. I learnt a lot there as well and actors etiquette.

In Rhythm City you played the role of a Thandeka, a member of a trio group, Sizzle which was portrayed as singing off-key. How did you feel about that for someone who is a new artist and still wants to make your mark?

I was very on the fence about the idea when I fi rst got the brief- I then spoke to my agent and she made me realize that at end of the day acting is acting. Thank God it has not affected my music in a negative way- I do however have people that come up to me and say “I did not know you can sing, because you played Thandeka”- The way I take it is that you have to prove yourself in this industry no matter what, so whether I did the character of Thandeka or not people would still doubt my singing ability,

You were born to a small town of Jaggersfontein. How was that like for you in terms of how you related to other kids?

The great thing about living in a small town is that you are not exposed to all of the dangers of city life as a kid and your mind does not get corrupted. So I grew up very freely. The best was being able to play all the games that kids play as kids. I look at kids in the city and what they do in their spare time- they go to movies and get involved in all kinds of things they should not be getting involved in. My dad allowed me to play with whoever I wanted to play with- with, which exposed me to the different languages and different cultures.

What was it like to be raised by a father?

My dad was my everything- girls in boarding school used to ask me how I cope with only a dad being a girl. My dad was there when ever I needed anything. I mean sure he could not give me all I wanted, but he made sure I had enough love and all I needed. I am the person I am today because of my father. I also have a wonderful stepmom-who only came into my life later on– she has also taught me so much about being a lady and how to carry myself and respect. I LOVE MY PARENTS

>MIRANDA IS ALSO WORKING HARD AS A MUSICIAN


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because that is how humans function at the end of the day.

How do you categorize your musical genre and your sounds? What infl uences it?

I call my music afro soul jazz; it has a bit of African infl uences with a bit of soul and jazz. I listen to a lot of old school classics and R&B. I also write from the heart which helps with the emotions in the song because I believe music is meant to make the world better and touch people.

You have been involved in short fi lms as AFDA graduate. Did you enter into fi lm as a platform to create a name for yourself and enter a music industry or are you genuinely interested in acting?

I was very involved in quite a few AFDA fi lms, that is part of our curriculum. I am genuinely interested in acting- I also took acting as a subject at school. I have always loved doing both and the fact that it creates a platform for me and helps with exposure is a bonus for me. It also helps being

interested in both because when the one does not they pay the other does- you have to cover your back as an artist in South Africa.

You are currently working for Gaenor casting agent. What exactly is your role at Gaenor?

I own and run the children’s department there – so I procure jobs for children that want to get into the acting industry.

What projects are you currently working on?

I am currently working on my debut album- it is taking me longer than I had expected. It will be called New Beginnings. The acting has gone a bit dormant except for the commercial side of things although I do attend quite a bit of auditions.

The music industry has many challenges for new artists. How are you dealing with the challenges as they tend to attack you at personal and spiritual level in some cases?

I have not had any problems as yet- my challenges have been very basic (recording and venues and fi nding people to work/produce on my music etc. But that is to be expected with any album recording.

Many people have entered the industry but made no impacts and have moved on to try other talents. What makes you think that you can fi nd and keep your place in the industry when there are already established artists who are also experiencing some of the challenges.

I think the two most important things to have in this industry is passion and talent without those you will fade into the

>MIRANDA IS ENVIED BY SOME FOR BEING ABLE TO CARE FOR SUCH A DEMANDING AFRO

background. Because of this you will be around for long whether you are in and between jobs or not- something is bound to come up one day- and positive thinking.

What do you think sets you apart form all these already established artists?

Faith and positive thinking are a great combination- I also believe that you are always as good as your last performance so I am always bettering my craft and work on it continuously.

What drives you?

Quite a few things drive me- wanting to be a millionare/billionare is one of them. I have quite a few things I want to accomplish- so I have to have drive.

>

MIRANDA IS UNDERSTANDS HER VERSATILE TALENT AND WORKS TO DEVELOP IN ALL ASPECTS OF ENTER-TAINMENT

What is your motto?

“Do not put off tomorrow what you can to today”- not sure who said that, I read it somewhere and I strongly believe that if people did not put things of to the next day – the world would be a better place!

What advice do you have for the youth that is aspiring to be actors or singers?

I have said this once and I will say it again- “never give up!” Especially with the industry we are in. There are a lot of “experts” that will tell you that you are not good enough- I say don’t listen to them just knock on the next door- some door is bound to open one day!

OUR READERS ASK

Andiswa Novukela: Are you Blondie’s daughter? What are you using to keep that afro so neat and fl uffy? And also for someone who is coming from Bloemfontein where did you learn to speak Xhosa like so well? No I am not Blondie’s daughter (I get this quite a lot)- My dad is German his name is Gunter Ammon. I wash it [afro) before I comb it, that way it is soft and manageable. I went to boarding school in the Eastern Cape; I pick up Languages very quickly.

Lindi Mshengu: Are you black or are you coloured?

I am mixed race not coloured- My Dad is German and my mom is South African (Sotho) -END-

Follow Miranda Mokhele on Facebook to join her fan club and chat with herf


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E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P

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LWAZI MNGOMA

There are a growing number of young people that are taking advantage of the business opportunities that

come their way. One such entrepre-neur is Lwazi Mngoma, who runs EASI Human Capital. He chats to Zama Mkhize about his business and the road to success.

How did you go about get-ting into the entertain-ment industry? As cliché as it may sound I got into it purely by chance. I was studying

towards an IT Programming degree and I was roped in to help with Rand Show in 2003. Once I was in, I fell in love. Was your family surprised by your decision to enter the entertainment business?

They were always aware that I never want-ed to be wearing suits for the rest of my life. The surprise was that entertainment is actually a viable industry.

Where did you study and what qualifi ca-tions do you hold? I have a Diploma in Computing and Busi-ness Studies through a Post Matric course run by Parktown Boy’s high through UNI-SA and Microsoft. I am currently studying towards a Bachelor of Commerce degree through UNISA.

What is your main drive and vision?

My main drive is to create consistently pro-ductive and value-adding entities. In some small way we are a part of a system that eradicates unemployment. We actively contribute to the lives of a myriad of peo-ple. That is what we always had in mind for EASI and the fact we are chipping away at it makes me very proud.

Who are the people you look up to and why?

My business partner Musa Kalenga. He’s the New African Legend ©. A radical think-er, great marketer and an astute business personality.

What inspires you to succeed?

There are a number of people but the most important has been my mother. She has supported me through my whirlwind career and she is unwavering as my catalyst for success.

What books have you read or re currently reading that have inspired you?

The Four Legs of the Table – Raymond Ack-


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erman

What does success mean to you?

Success for means having the pleasure of attaining my dreams. Success is insatiable as dreams are blooming constantly.

What has been the best thing about work-ing in the entertainment business? The ability to travel to some beautiful plac-es, meeting amazing people whilst work-ing on some of the best productions in the world.

What has been the worst thing about work-

ing in the entertainment business? The inability to have consistency. We work very awkward hours.

Who are you managing right now?

I am managing my team at EASI as well as suppliers on a number of projects we are currently working on.

What can we look forward to from you in the future?

EASI aims to grow substantially but the most immediate step towards that is Curtain Call™.

Read more about it at www.easihuman-capital.co.za


EXPOSURE 29

FOR SOMEONE HER AGE, SHE HAS ACHIEVED REMARK-ABLY IN AREAS OF THREATRE AND FILM. A VERSATILE

ARTIST WITH A GROWING STATURE IN FILMMAKING, LAURA THIES HAS GROWN TO CRITICAL ACCLAIM AS PERFORMER;

SHE SPEAKS WITH ENTERPRISE EXPOSURE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THABANI MKHIZE OF HER LOVE-HATE RELATION-SHIP WITH NEW YORK AND INDECISIVENESS ABOUT HER

HOME, BETWEEN BROADWAY AND HOLLYWOOD!

LAURA THIES

C A R E E R

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Welcome to the pages of Enterprise Exposure, you are origi-nally from Germany but you have spent a considerable period in New York, studied and working there, tell us briefl y about yourself, what you do and your background?

My name is Laura Thies and I am twenty-six years old. My career as an artist started at the age of fi ve in a tiny village called Stöttham in the beautiful countryside of Bavaria, Ger-many. It was there that I took my fi rst steps into the world of entertainment – the theater.

At the age of eighteen my biggest dream came true when I got accepted into an acting school in New York City! Of course I had to take this chance and two years of studying in the United States turned into 7 ¾ years diving even deeper into the arts. While obtaining my degree in musical theater I discovered my passion for fi lmmaking and decided to attend graduate school to learn more about the media and interna-tional affairs.

And so here I am. With my unique, theoretical as well as prac-tical knowledge about the theater, the media, and the world, I hope to produce beautiful fi lms and videos, to create power-ful projects to give people a voice, who otherwise wouldn’t be heard, and to make works of art to share the experiences I am gaining in life, with those who are interested in listening.

What have been your studies focused on and what education-al qualifi cations do you currently hold?

During my time as an undergraduate I focused on acting, and was trained in singing and dancing as well. After that I dived into fi lm production and very intensely worked on my skills as a director, cameraman and editor for video and fi lm, work-ing on over 80 projects in the past six years. For small pieces I often do everything myself. On bigger sets I love working as an assistant director or assistant cameraman.

Today I hold a Certifi cate in Musical Theater, a Certifi cate in 16mm Film Production, a Certifi cate in Screen Writing, a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in Musical Theater, a MA (Mas-ter of Arts) in Media Studies, and a MA in International Af-fairs.

You played a lead actress in numerous theatre, fi lm and tel-evision shows, what have been your main achievements and biggest projects thus far?

On paper my biggest achievement was probably playing the part of the ‘Interviewer’ in the Off-Off Broadway play enti-tled ‘When the World Was Green’. It was only a two men show and we performed it in a small theater on 44th Street, just one block away from ‘Phantom of the Opera’. So that felt amazing, going to rehearsals and performances and on your

way passing by the biggest theaters in the world.

Personally my biggest achievement was playing ‘Orlando’ in Shake-speare’s ‘As You Like It’. First of all, it was my fi rst year in Canada, so my English wasn’t that outstanding and I had to learn a lot, a lot of text – in Shakespeare English! Second I got the lead male part in a mixed cast! It was a great challenge and the best part I have played thus far. I even cut my hair for it and people who didn’t know me, really thought I was a guy!

You are a versatile actress/fi lmmaker who is able to transcend differ-ent forms of art genres, how do you sustain this and what made you pursue all these art forms without focusing on just one?

I think my versatility is what makes my art and me as an artist power-ful. By challenging myself with different genres, my creative juices always stay fresh and I keep experimenting rather than putting on just one hat.

It’s a limitation at the same time though because too much doesn’t look good to many people! People who don’t really know me but just my resume, often don’t take me serious at fi rst because they only see that I am 26 and they think that somebody who has spread herself so ‘thin’ can’t do anything well. So I have to prove myself, especially

>LAURA THIES: PASSIONATE ABOUT FILM AND THEATRE-FILMMAKER

EXPOSURE 31

in fi lm production, which is male dominated. They don’t like to hear that you are a fi lmmaker and have work in this and that posi-tion. They expect just one focus.

It’s not like I necessarily chose to put on all these different hats. I am usually being ‘invited’ to. That was the case with being an assistant director. About two years ago I was asked by director Claudia Heinzl to work on her next fi lm. I had never done it be-fore, but it actually turned out to be a perfect fi t for me. I learned very quickly and she loved my work. So she recommended me afterwards for another project, and now I have worked as an as-sistant director on several projects very successfully. That’s be-cause I’m open.

My many choices keep me alive and happy. All of these jobs themselves take a lot out of you. As an assistant director you car-ry a lot of responsibility. For low budget productions with only a few days of work but very long hours this is extremely intense and I wouldn’t want to do it eleven months a year. Same with editing. When I edit a project, I sit by myself in my little room

and edit every day, all day long, often times until early in the morning. When I fi nally go to sleep I keep dreaming about the next cuts. I love this time as well. It’s very peaceful and you get a lot of time with yourself. But then after a while I greatly look forward to being on set again, surrounded by people and doing some physical work. Everything I do complements each other and makes my life rich and round.

What would you say is your fi rst love between theatre, fi lm and television?

My fi rst love is what I have been doing my whole life – acting in the theater. For me there is nothing more exciting and beautiful than going on a journey with your character every night; expe-riencing the mood of the audience and feeling the aura of the theater. Is this love stronger than the one for fi lmmaking? No, defi nitely not. It’s just different. Both make me tingle and give me goose bumps.

New York is a vibrant cultural melting pot that is often repre-sented as the city where individuals fi nd themselves and fulfi ll their dreams, what has been your experience of the city?

New York indeed is exciting and very vibrant, and for me for the past eight years there couldn’t have been a better place to live at and learn. There is so much culture and such a big variety of people. It opened my eyes, made me completely fl exible and strengthened my tolerance towards everything and everyone. At the same time it is faster than any city I have ever been too and therefore it is extremely stressful. It’s a love and hate relationship and I need a regular break from it.

Mainstream media in many countries stereotypically represent Germany as a conservative country, most of which have to do with the history of the country; how is the country really like and what is the biggest difference between America and Germany?

That’s a diffi cult question and I always have a problem with gen-eralizations, but I’ll try. We keep our streets cleaner, we don’t like to be late, and we try to follow rules like not crossing the streets when it’s red, even when there is no car, bike or person around. That might be considered conservative, I guess. Like everywhere, there are more conservative places and people than others. There is a big difference, for example between Munich and Berlin, and between today and fi fty years ago.

I haven’t really lived here for nearly ten years, but recently came back to spend at least twelve months at home. So far I am very happy to be back and feel really humble. The standard of living is much higher, houses are built with precision and love, people are more relaxed and down to earth, and friendship is more precious. I haven’t really seen too much that hit me as being negatively conservative. It’s relative. What do you compare it with? The US outside of NY is more conservative to me than Germany.

What do you think is the biggest misconception about Germans?

First, that we are all blond and blue eyed. Secondly, that we are cold, serious and not very funny. We can be very warm and lov-ing but it might take us a little bit longer to show it. Also the Ger-man language is amazing. It allows for word plays and sarcasm that the English language can only dream off.

They recently had a good showing at the Soccer World Cup, which was held here in our shores, do you follow football and were you able to watch some of the 2010 FIFA World Cup matches?

During the regular season I don’t really follow soccer. I some-times watch it with my father. Since we hosted the World Cup in 2006, soccer has a very different status and there is a big hype about public viewings. Everybody goes out to meet friends and family to watch the national soccer team. It’s an amazing atmos-phere! Of course only if they play well, not like in the semifi nal against Spain! That was frustrating. I watched all of the German games this year and some others. You were in Cape Town in January 2009, what was your impres-sion of the city and South Africa in general?

MY FIRST LOVE IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING MY WHOLE LIFE – ACTING IN

THE THEATER. FOR ME THERE IS NOTH-ING MORE EXCITING AND BEAUTIFUL THAN GOING ON A JOURNEY WITH

YOUR CHARACTER EVERY NIGHT; EX-PERIENCING THE MOOD OF THE AUDI-ENCE AND FEELING THE AURA OF THE

THEATER.

C A R E E R

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C A R E E R

I was only there for about two weeks, had classes all day long and had to spend most of the time in Waterfront, which I believe is not the most authentic part of Cape Town. So for the little I experienced, I think it is a very rich country in terms of nature and its people are very strong, for all they have gone through and made out of it. There is a lot of positive energy and I love your music! But honestly, I don’t think I really got a feeling of how beautiful the country and its people really are and therefore I will just have to come back!

You have also done a show for women in Congo, tell us about that? What was the aim behind the show and what did you achieve with it?

For about fi ve years I have been involved in the VDay movement, which fi ghts to end violence against women across the globe, and to break the silence of survivors. Playwright and activist, Eve Ensler started this organization more than ten years ago when her play ‘Vagina Monologues’ was fi rst performed in NY. Today thousands of groups from every corner in the world participate by organizing performances of her plays, as well as teach-ins and fi lm screenings about the subject matter. Every year Mrs. Ensler travels to a differ-ent country and works with its women.10% of all the money raised through VDay events goes

there. Since the situation of the women in the Democratic Repub-lic of the Congo has been extremely horrifi c for many years and has been completely overlooked, VDay has been trying to raise awareness about it in 2009 as well as 2010.

In 2009 I directed the play ‘Anyone of Us’, which tells different stories of imprisoned women in the US, who at one point in their lives had to face sexual violence. At the beginning of the show we gave a brief history about the Democratic Republic of Congo and screened a short fi lm about the women. For me it was the most powerful project I have ever worked on. It is Ensler’s heavi-est play, and I mean heavy. The fi rst challenge was to work with the actors and stay sensitive with their pasts. The second was to tell these traumatic stories in a way that the viewer wouldn’t close off after the fi rst three monologues. I think we found a good balance. From the feedback that I got, the audience left the theater very touched. I had many people come up to me thanking me for my work, even telling me about their own stories, and we received the award for best program of the year from my univer-sity. To top this off, we had the chance to do one performance at a women’s correctional facility. It was an outstanding audience and the Q & A session we had with them afterwards really made

me realize how much power art can have! I am still moved from that time!

What production are you currently working on and what are your future productions?

Currently I am trying to settle down in Germany and make con-nections to the art scene here. It’s not that easy because I don’t really know any artists here and am not quite sure yet how the industry here works. So I am kind of starting at zero. But I al-ready found a great performing arts studio here in Munich where I met amazing people. I am doing some video work for them, and this week I am starting a documentary about one of the teachers there, Ray Allen Taylor. He got a part in a musical and I will fol-low him throughout the time of rehearsals until opening night. I am also thinking about making a documentary about my family, which has been working in the German shoe industry for 154 years and who lost everything – factories, houses and ground, after World War II.

Another project is the next fi lm with writer and producer Mara Lesemann. We have worked together on several short fi lms and

>LAURA AND FRIEND WORKING ON A SCENE

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a play before, but this time we are tackling our fi rst feature fi lm! I will be directing and editing. It is scheduled to be shot in the summer of 2011. Right now we are working on shooting sched-ule and budget.

Who is your biggest infl uence in life and why?

I don’t really have an infl uence in life and I never had. Somebody I really respect as an actor is Jonny Depp. He is one of the very few big ones, who has really had the chance to show his whole potential and play a variety of characters. Of course, I also look very much up to Eve Ensler. What she has achieved is unique. I met her in person once as well and she is just a very beautiful human being.

What inspires Laura to engage herself in all these productions and what footprint does she seeks to leave behind as part of her legacy?

I love what I do and I love my life, therefore it is not hard to get up every day and continue where I left off. What footprints…my legacy? (laughs). Wow those are big words for a little Laura. I don’t have an answer for that right now.

What does success mean to you and do you think you have achieved it, if not, at what point would you feel that you suc-ceeded?

Success to me means to be happy with who I am and what I am doing in life. There are many times in my life where I was suc-cessful with that. I am defi nitely always happy with what I am doing and I can never complain that I don’t have enough to do. I always have too much work, actually.

But being who I am and being an artist I have volunteered count-less hours away and have always put my full heart into every project, leaving the question of payment behind, because it was the experience that counted. In the past two or three years this has been a little bit hard because unfortunately a part of myself grew up that has to be concerned with money and my future. On top of that, I have been exploited and screwed over so many times that sometimes my passion for my work is a bit dampened. I always tell myself this is the last time I do this for free… Yeah right. So once I can keep doing what I am doing right now but earn more than $1 an hour (I am not understating), so maybe $12 to $20, I will call myself truly successful and the happiest person!

What is your power principle that informs your attitude and thinking?

Always stay true to myself and to who I am. Meaning to stay down to earth and to be who I am in every situation. How important is family to you, and do you have plans to have your own family in future?

My family is extremely important to me and even that I have lived abroad for ten years I have always stayed very close to them. I’m not sure if I will ever have children. I’m not opposed to the idea and I love kids, so I am open. One thing is for sure though: I defi nitely want to fi nd that one person to share my life with and with whom I can grow old.

C A R E E R

“The most dangerous black man is an educated black man”-Author uknown-

Enterprise Exposure Magazine

Educational

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September is a heritage month in

South Africa. It’s an opportunity

for the promotion of cultural

expressions and of course our

uniquely diverse heritage reflecting

the heritage of the different race

groups, cultures and religions. One of

the prominent custom that reflect the

heritage of the Xhosa nation is ukwaluka,

a rite of passage circumcision that young

men must go through to be accepted as

men in society.

From Boys To MenEXPLORING UKWALUKA, THE CULTURE OF INITIATIONBY THULANI SINEKE

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O P I N I O N

It is in the so-called circumcision schools, out on the mountain camps, that the value of respect and responsibility is entrenched amongst these young men. While in the school, a goat gets sacrifi ced-symbolising passage into manhood. It is a practice not taken slightly by those who go through it and has been around for centuries, despite coming under increasing attacks in recent times, due to the number of initiates that die while undergoing circumcision. The elders would often tell the young men about the importance of this practice and the implications of not committing to it. For instance, among the tribes or nations which practice this ancient custom, old men who fail

to go for initiation are forced to do so by traditional norms even at a later stage in their lives. This as a result of not being regarded ‘real men”. In other words, in the eyes of the community, until you go into initiation, you remain a boy and therefore cannot take part in discussions amongst other men. In some traditional families one cannot even get married because he is not regarded as man.

The heritage month is an opportune moment to refl ect on the relevance of this practice in the modern South African society. As someone who underwent this process, I must start acknowledge that, as with coins, there are always two sides. Good and bad. The same goes for this practice.

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Over the past few years this practice has come under fi re from a number of different formations. Many have used the growing death toll each year among initiates to argue that the practice should be stopped. For those against this form of circumcision, they further charge that it is no longer relevant and should be modernized with Western circumcision or at least be conducted by qualifi ed medical doctors.

On the other hand traditional leaders and those in favour of this practice dismiss the charges against ukulukwa, arguing that it is their culture, and a refl ection of their African identity. The older generation is insistent that young men must pass through this practice so that they will be schooled on the responsibilities that come with being a man, and until they do, they shall not participate in public decision-making processes of the community. For them, this practice is a tool for separating boys from men and a historical heritage, which they regard as part of their lives.

My view in this debate is that its relevance depends on each and every family and what that particular family believes in. It would be unjust of me to praise this practice. Of course those who choose to go through it should not be judged harshly as

EXPOSURE 37

this is not entirely their decision alone. When the time comes for the boy to go through initiation; various negotiations within the family take place. As a measure to gauge if the young man is indeed ready for this next step.

What we may require as South Africans at large is to take a huge step and major a stand against cultures which impedes personal growth and human rights. As Western as that may sound, we need to be honest with ourselves as a nation. If a culture is no longer working in today’s time then we owe it to ourselves and the ones we love to go back to the drawing board, and see if there are any gaps we may be leaving behind as we move forward.

It is really sad that young people continue to die

over a condition they have no control of. The other issue here is peer pressure with family and community stereotypes forcing these young men to go for initiation, fearing social exclusion. Of course the decision does with the individual to decide if they want to go for initiation or not, but this is very rare. It is ridiculous for people to expect you to do as they believe and not what you want personally.

The point here is not to say stop the practice, but look at ways in which it would be improved and made safer for those that undergo it. Surely the desire to be accepted as men shall not be achieved at the expense of one’s life. In the end, a man is a man through his actions.

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Historically, young Zulu maidens have always been regarded as precious roses of the nation. To live up to such billing, young girls in the traditional Zulu society were cultured on refraining from sexual activity until they

were married, as most other cultures and religion also emphasized. Annually these young girls would annually participate in the Reed Dance, wherein they would visit the King of the Zulu Nation, now King Zwelithini in his Kingdom, where old women would test their virginity and teach them values about respecting themselves and their bodies.

However, not everyone has taken liking to this custom. Gender rights groups insist that this practice is now irrelevant; assault on young girls rights, some of whom are pressured by their families to participate in this practice. A lot of people are saying this practice is inappropriate and should be banned, without, however

realizing the signifi cance it has on young women. This custom motivates young women to respect their bodies until marriage. I think it customs like these that should be practiced in the contemporary society, given that most young people are dying of sexually transmitted diseases every day. Practices such as the reed dance make our ancestors happy, seeing that the Zulu roses have not rotten away, which in itself is a blessing to these young girls.

I believe that our generation should stick to our customs and value them as source guidance in their lives. I would encourage young people to participate in the reed dance to show that they are proud of themselves and this wonderful culture. Such customs promote the values of ‘Ubuntu’ and respect amongst a nation. Being part of the reed dance does not take anything away from you but instead it gives you dignity; unlike forced sex which will take away your dignity and might in return give you HIV/ Aids. The reed dance is our custom; we should embrace it and sustain it for generations to come. I believe that investing in something good for the nation is the best investment that a person can ever make.

WE SHOULD ST ICK TO OUR

CUSTOMSThe customs and practices of Africans have been in the past ridiculed and looked down upon. There was an expectation that once freedom was attained, African people will be able to re-assert their cultural heritage. Despite some improvement in that direction, some of the customs and practice have come under fi re, such as that of Umkhosi Womhlanga (Reed Dance). Some sections of society insist that this virginity testing custom for young maiden girls should be banned as it further entrenches the oppression of women. However, not everyone shares such sentiments, writes NOMALI ZONDI, a willing participant in the Reed Dance practice.

O P I N I O N

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You have writt en several books, “The Church and the Developmental State in post-apartheid South Africa”; “Church and The Public Policy”, and now “Africa and Modernity”. The theme seems to be religion and politi cs. Please take us through your

books and what infl uenced you to write each one of them.

My fi rst book, which was published on February 2010, is The Church and a Developmental State in Post Apartheid South Africa. This book is suggesti ng alternati ves to development that are rather inclusive; appreciate the ‘wisdom’ of the ‘non-expert’ in our societi es. Aft er summarizing the South African

KWAZIMKHIZE

Kwazi Mkhize is a talented young writer who has published two books, with a third in producti on all this while he is pursuing his Masters degree in Public Policy at Wits University. A devout Christi an, with inti mate relati onship with Christ, Kwazi questi ons the relati onship between church and the state and the dominant ideas of development. Thabani Mkhize chats to him about his writi ng, Christi anity and his Marxist-Leninist leanings.

telling our stories

E R S O N A L I T Y

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policy landscape aft er 1994, this book then argues that SA is not post-liberati on but has a number of aspects that sti ll need such liberati on, such as our own consciousness of self for example. The book then draws from the criti que of post-development writers that the noti on of ‘development’ has not yielded promised results hence alternati ves have space. The book then looks at some social and theological resources that can be sourced to construct a people-centered development.

My second book, Africa and Modernity, which was launched in Johannesburg on the 24th September 2010, heritage day, is a narrati ve book that is asking perti nent questi ons about an ‘Africa person, who is religious and hoping to fi t into the modern life’. This

book is a biographical fi cti on or a biographical novel because it has some elements of truth in its account of this compelling story of a young man who was searching for answers. What is exciti ng about this book is that it has a story line, which draws a person to read on without getti ng bored. Secondly, there are interesti ng characters by which the story is told. And moreover, aft er each and every scene, there are short spaces and small leading questi ons that help each reader refl ect on the scene and write their personal refl ecti on about matt ers arising in the story. At the end of the story, there are two bonus features; an arti cle on ‘How do Africans approach God” and “How the modern society, through the Christi an infl uence, approach God”. This is a beauti ful

ti meless story that transcends ethnic groups and diff erent languages and talk to every person who is African.

The third book, Church and Public Policy, is currently going through the producti on process, which means it’s already fi nished but is at the binding stage. We have agreed to put it on hold for a while and allow the launch and promoti on of the second one to fi nd ground fi rst before we organize the tour of the third one.

There is also another book that will be the fourth in the line, to be out not later than February 2011. We will also talk about that when

we have given enough chance to the third book.

You have become a published author at a very young age, what drives you?

Well, what drives me fi rst and foremost is my devoti on to Christ. It gives me a moti vati on that from a humanisti c angle, Christ accomplished a great impact as a young person. And all gift s and abiliti es are the direct prerogati ve of God to us human beings; hence it is Christ fi rst who receives the accolades. Secondly, my mother who was a working class single parent invested a lot of

>Kwazi Mkhize exchanging books with Moeletsi Mbeki

P E R S O N A L I T Y

EXPOSURE 41

money and ti me to give an educati on that she could not have due her involvement in the struggle against apartheid. So that really moti vates me. Moreover, the material conditi ons of my community give me ample data for refl ecti on which is aimed at social constructi on or reconstructi on. There are a number of things that needs to be deconstructed in our society and voices that come from below must rise up and speak for themselves or else no one will tell our stories.

When and how did you discover that you have a talent for writi ng publishable material? What does it take to be a published author?

Well, well I look at my journals that I used to write at high school level, I realised that I was already inspiring to write, but the big confi dence in my writi ng talent was endorsed when I received 75% for my dissertati on at the university. That boosted my confi dence and propelled me to go right ahead.

Bantu Biko wrote what he liked, what do you focus your writi ng upon and what att racted to you to the art of writi ng?

The noti on of ‘writi ng what I like’ has somehow been a pedal to spring-board to self actualisati on. However, due to the style that I tend to use, the academic style, I am allowed to write what I like but within the context of acknowledging the bigger body of knowledge that was produced before and currently. You can’t say, “because I want to write what I like, I therefore have to ignore what others have discovered”, especially if you want with that work to receive att enti on of a higher social discourse.

Writi ng is moti vated by the desire to narrate a parti cular story, what stories do you seek to convey and to whom?

The background of academic writi ng is wide and vast. It moves from discourse, narrati ve, case studies etc. so to use simple language, I write from the perspecti ve and paradigm of liberati on thinking,

social narrati ve discourses as well as (you will see the fourth book) from the futurist thinking. An example, if I att end a module or short course on project management, I will push myself to att empt something along that line.

You write about church and development, public policy and how church should relate with the state, what is the ideal relati onship here?

My fi rst hand experience is that of being a devoted Christi an. Secondly, I am an acti ve politi cal thinker and acti vist. Thus I form part of the discourse that I refl ect about. I am somehow part of the story I am either criti quing, deconstructi on or reconstructi ng. So from the ‘groundati on’ of theory and the paradigm of liberati on, I am able to use the lenses that are inform by my practi cal context to refl ect on ‘reality’ as I see it and humbly propose change (where I can).

You grew up in Greater Edendale and lived at Imbali Township, both a concentrati on of poor and middle class black Africans sett lement, how did growing up here infl uence you as a person?

Growing up in these two ‘concentrati on of poor and middle class black Africans sett lements” has helped me to be closer to the

defi niti ons and descripti on that are used to tag the people for whom I call liberati on on behalf. If my thesis is that ‘we not the equals of the unequals, but the other way around, which is the unequals of the equals’, then my social locati on aff ords me the chance to appreciate my claims and develop passion around it.

How do we get young black people in the path of success? What interventi ons can the church and the state fashion to this end?

Well, we fi rst have to accept the term ‘success’ with suspicion and relati vist mind. Warren Buff et warms us against blindly accepti ng a uni-ric noti on called ‘success’, because it tends to box people to successful and un-successful, and even to non-successful. First and criti cally so, success is subjecti ve in a sense that it is based on goals and vision. You measure and qualify your success by the goals and [criti cal success factors] that you have set for yourself and organizati on etc. so to ‘put young people on the course for success’ is mere to help people revise and re-enforce their strategic goals in life and help them to achieve them. I commented earlier that you seem to be rebelling against the established order, the orthodox Christi anity, your response was that yes but you love Jesus Christ? Where do you draw the disti ncti on and what are the problemati c aspects with the

>Kwazi Mkhize with Mondli Makhanya, Editor-in-Chief of Avusa Media newspapers


EXPOSURE42

established order that you are not comfortable with?

The so-called established order is actually a refl ecti on of a rebellion; this order altered the former ‘order’ and reconstructed it or reformed it. Hence I refuse to be imposed to and “incubated” by ‘orders’ that are sti ll going reconstructi on or deconstructi on themselves. Simply put, I am living and refl ecti ng on this world conscious of my immediate realiti es, experience but however, being conversant with the biblical text.

In your fi rst book, you wrote about the church and public policy (governance), most people would prefer, religion and politi cs separated, where is the interplay?

What is politi cs? Maybe let me fi rst simplify that. A grade A answer is: Politi cs is a conversati on about how human beings organize themselves and resources around them. What is religion? A grade A answer: Religion is a worship of a deity, a conversati on about how the deity wish people lived and cohabitate together as well as how they share their limited resources that the ‘deity’ has allowed them to enjoy. There are a number of examples I can use, but let us consider this simple one; ‘why does the Lord’s prayer menti on that God’s kingdom come to earth’? is because there is a parti cular religious thinking that has strong interests about this material world, thus the two cannot be separated. Worth menti oning sti ll, is that in my fi rst book I do not just talk about politi cs, but I use the discourse of politi cs to help people understand how such a discourse infl uence the state as far as development and governance

is concerned.

Ideally, what role do you think the church, or religious formati ons should play beyond the church walls, parti cularly in a society such as ours?

That is a huge questi on that requires lengthy reading and discussion. I recommend that people carefully read chapter 5 of my fi rst book and also check the references at the back and go read some of those readings, they have helped me and are sti ll helping me understand the goals and positi on of religion and state.

You subscribe to the Marxist-Leninist school of thought, how you apply their principles and philosophy in the modern South African and African society

(laughs) Yes I know it’s an interesti ng one. A Marxist-Leninist Christi an? Please read chapter four to six of my book. This is rather a short space to elaborate, but in a nutshell, which social strata did Jesus come from? What lifestyle did He live? Who were His friends? What did He own? How did He deal with poverty and lack? Was his use of religion liberati ng or exploitati ve? Did he use His power to be served or serve others? I could go on and on. I need to say though, that I am very much aware of how communism and Leninism, taken out of context and proporti on, can become the center of the very evil it seeks to criti que.

You also have a running interest in music, radio, television, exactly what are your plans, besides writi ng?

Yes man, I am a fellow who oft en struggle with multi ple talents, but I am currently a regular guest on the ‘Recharge show’, A Christi an

talk-show hosted by sis Zanele Mbokazi on DSTV. I am lined up for a number of interviews for my work on other programs. But, I am busy putti ng together a show on writi ng books, and a theatre producti on based on my second book. From there I’m sure other projects will emerge but that where I’m concentrati ng on for now. Music, well let me just say I will give you something memorable my friend. Watch the space, I’m cooking something.

You have studied at University of KwaZulu natal and you are now at Wits University, what qualifi cati ons do you have and what does formal educati on means to you?

Yes I am a post-graduate from UKZN and my background is in; Development studies, Politi cal sciences, Theology. And now I am in a new space of specializing public policy. Formal educati on is a “necessary irritati on” _ very irritati ng but it tends to open a mind like opening the eyes in the morning. Young people must go out there and try unti l a door is opened for educati on chances. Even if you have an art, skill or talent, you may sti ll need to refi ne it by adding some literacy to it. One person said, “If you think learning is expensive, then count the costs of ignorance”.

What are you aspirati ons, when you look at 5-10 years from now, what do you see happening in your life and what interventi ons would you like to drive?

Well, fi rst priority is grow in the grace and knowledge our Lord Jesus Christ. Get my four books out and well circulated, get a doctorate (God willing) and serve my community.

>Kwazi with KZN premier, Dr. Zweli Mkhize


EXPOSURE 43

Same image also appreared from Nathaniel Isaacs, Travels and Adventures in Eastern Africa (1836).

The King expressed reservations about what he deemed inappropriate depiction of King Shaka, saying the R3 Million statue by Andries Botha made the legendary king look like a ‘herd boy’ rather the ‘warrior’ king that he is said to have been. The removed statue had the King Shaka without his shield and spear, something that has become a permanent feature of the King Shaka’s stereotypical image. The provincial administration thus appointed a team of historians, academics and members of the Zulu Royal House to advise on the appropriate statue of King Shaka which will be placed in a more ‘prominent location’ at the International Airport than its previous location-on the middle of the airport exit towards parking bays.

The task team includes Professor Jabulani Maphalala — former history professor and Zulu cultural expert; Jabulani Sithole — University of Natal history lecturer, author and co-editor of the book Zulu Identities: Being Zulu Past and Present; Dr Vusi Shongwe — head of the Heritage Directorate in the Premier’s offi ce; Dr Brian Thusi — of the Offi ce of the Premier; Reverend Mnculwane Vikinduku — from the KZN Provincial Adminstration; Mkhohliseni Mdletshe — praise singer and the Representatives of the Zulu Royal family- Princes Mbonisi, Thulane and Zebulon.

This controversy has raised a debate about exactly who was Shaka Zulu and how did he look like. Dan Wylie, in a chapter entitled:”White Myth of Shaka” in the book “Zulu Identities, Being Zulu, Past and Present” writes that “we know almost nothing for certain about Shaka. We do not know when he was born, or what he looked like, or exactly when he died. What has come down to us through the literature is an extraordinary palimpsest of half-understood rumours, speculations and plain old lies”. Writing in The Witness newspaper, John Wright, a senior research associate in history at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg, and a visiting professor in the Rock Art Research Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand, also advanced the argument that Shaka Zulu is a man of myth and legend. He asked, signifi cantly, “who was this man whose shadow falls over public affairs in South Africa so long after his own times?” In a response to his question, Wright concurs with Wylie that King Shaka’s “his life and reign have long been so shrouded in myth that it is very diffi cult to make an assessment of his career from the existing records” but “what we can say, though, is that accounts of Shaka as a bloodthirsty military leader whose armies swept across much of southern Africa in the 1820s are based on uncritical readings of the evidence and are highly misleading”.

Manifestly, an emerging picture here is that even historical literature on Zulu History and Shaka’s reign does not provide conclusive evidence that is accurate enough to give clarity on how this legendary King looked like. He remains an enigma of history and a product of rumours and myth. Wylie said as much in a newspaper interview: “There’s not really enough information to put together a full picture of the real person.”

KING SHAKA

tha

ba

ni m

khize

A N A L Y S I S

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A LEGENDARY MYTH?

On June 2, few days before the start of the much awaited FIFA Soccer World in South Africa, the KwaZulu Natal Provincial

government ordered for the removal of the statue of King Shaka at the new Durban International airport named after him. It was reported that this decision was informed by growing discontent from the Zulu Royal family led by King Goodwill Zwelithini, the reigning leader of the Zulu nation.

It might then be fair to argue that as it stands it seems like no one actually knows how Shaka looked like, save for the general comments that he cut a fi ne fi gure as many of masculine, warrior in archetypical image of all great gladiators. Think of Russell Crowe in Gladiator or even better, Henry cele, who played Shaka in the TV series modeled on his life-which has also been said to be inaccurate. Even the Royal family itself does not seem to be sure how King Shaka looked, but apparently they favour the Henry Cele TV series imagery as their preferred representation of King Shaka.

The picture of Shaka with his spear and shield, which is the dominant image that is preferred by the royal family is attributed to James King, who upon meeting Shaka he described as “upwards of six feet in height, and well-muscled”. Such a description is generic and leaves much to the imagination. King arrived in Natal in 1825 with Isaacs but he died in September in 1828, on the same month of Shaka’s assassination by his half brother and allies. Therefore, there are some doubts about the accuracy of Kings drawing of Shaka, especially since he was also not renowned for his drawing skills, save for maps, which he excelled in. as a result some writers have alleged that the dominant image of Shaka Zulu is a work of a person in London possible, where King originated, using his descriptions of Shaka.

If no one knows, including the Zulu Royal family, how King Shaka looked like; which image is appropriate a refl ection of this man? Already on amount of R3 Million has been spent on the fi rst statue, which is to be reworked. Can further costs be justifi ed on another statue, which if the current historical literature is to be believed, will be based more on how the provincial government and the Royal family would like King Shaka to look than he actually looked, since that cannot be confi rmed and verifi ed. One could even go further and ask the question, how is so important for the Royal Family to have an enhanced and warrior like image of King Shaka.

The above questions cannot be answered authoritatively, given the fact that the story of Shaka Zulu has been marred by rumours, lies and myth. However, it is important to note that in African historical narrative, Shaka is portrayed as a cultural hero, an empire builder and an archetype of black resistance, particularly at the nascent stages of black and white engagements. Clearly this is the portrait that the royal family wants to retain of King Shaka. So whether this is a historical reality or myth becomes less important as some authors argue. The main issue is that there are aren’t any conclusive historical portrait of Shaka, as such the most empowering image of this legendary King should be adopted and made offi cial. Already, the dominant image of Shaka Zulu is that of Henry Cele, who played Shaka in the TV series. We believe that he was a masculine, warrior like Russell Crowe in Gladiator. Perhaps we should go with that.

A N A L Y S I S

EXPOSURE 47

NONTOMBI NYANDA

EXPOSURE48

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

L I F E S T Y L E

Applying an attitude of patience and trust in one’s life begins with the art of exercising self-reliance. This can only happen when you realise that you are in charge of everything that happens in your life. All the success, happiness and the kind of world you want to create is in your hands. You can make anything happen!

+All the dreams and success happen when you do things for yourself and not depending on other people.

If the formula that you are using does not take you one step closer to success, you need to change and develop another one.

People come into your life for a reason and a season, when their time is over, it means that a purpose has been served, and you need to let them go. Do not hold on to the past, remember that experience does not make up faith and hope but faith and hope make up new experience.

Whoever is in your life is not always going to be part of your life. You need to prepare yourself for divorce, death, and being heart broken. Remember to not give your heart and love away completely that you loose your self-identifi cation.

Do not expect people to do you favours or perform certain things in your life. If you want anything done successfully, you need to do it yourself. If people help you to get to another level consider yourself lucky, for it won’t happen the second time around. You need to understand that people don’t owe you anything.

Whatever circumstance or poverty you may experience in your life at some stage, it is designed for you and not for anybody else, so don’t expect people to understand what you are going through. It doesn’t help talking and crying about it or wanting people to be sympathetic towards you and your problem, the reason why it’s you and not anybody else is because, you are strong and fi t enough to deal and overcome it and still come out as a winner. God gives you a challenge that you can handle. You are stronger and courageous than what you think of yourself.

When you are in the midst of making a very big and important decision that could affect your life in a huge way, and fear that the risk is too huge for you to handle, you need to take that risk, for if you give up before you got to try it out, for the rest of your life, you will always ask yourself this question; what if I did it? Life is all about taking risks.

All of us have the sixth sense called the intuition, most of the times you sense of something that is bad or getting negative vibes. Do not ignore it; you will be saved from a lot of pain, misery, disappointments and regrets.

Always thrive to do something that you are passionate about. The most important aspect that one should always have is to believe in yourself and in your dreams even when people don’t believe in your dreams. You have to trust transformation.

See the world through the eyes of a child. Children are always optimistic and natural enthusiasts. They are always looking for something new to learn that they can enjoy. They never hesitate to try out something; they approach life with boldness and courage and are fearless-so should you!

STEPS OF EXERCISING AN ATTITUDE OF PATIENCE AND TRUST IN YOUR LIFE

APPLYING AN ATTITUDE OF PATIENCE AND TRUST

10BY NONTOMBI NYANDA

DESIGNING

HIS OWN SUCCESS

EXPOSURE 49

Zimele Ndlovu a Young talented designer born in Inanda Newtown A.

The 26 year old fashion designer understands that hard work and pas-

sion are key variables for success in life. He successfully avoided the

temptations of crime and drugs that are so rampant in townships to

get what he has always wanted in his life; to be a fashion designer.

Zimele has raised a few eyebrows with his designs, having managed to

be one of the Vodacom Durban July fi nalists for three years running.

Zimele believes that thinking outside the box is important and can be an

in inspire a person to further heights, which is same direction he would

like to see his business take.

NOMALI ZONDI CAUGHT UP WITH THIS TALENTED YOUNG DESIGNER TO FOR A CHAT ABOUT HIS LIFE AND QUEST FOR INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION.

Zimele NdlovuZimele Ndlovu

L I F E S T Y L E

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

• 2007: Vodacom Durban July Semifi nal-

ist (Top 20) young designer awards.

• 2007: Top 20 fi nalists in the end of year

Fashion show themed (center stage

2007) at the Durban University of

Technology (DUT)

• 2008 Participation: Sunfl ower Bandana

competition

• 2008: Vodacom Durban July Semifi nal-

ist (Top 20) young designer awards.

• EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS

• After completing Matric at Siyathuthuka

high school in 2004, Zimele studied for

a four year National Diploma in Fashion.

EXPOSURE50

Why did you choose to study to-

wards a fashion diploma?

Because it offered me the abil-

ity t showcase my creativity to

the fullest capability.

Who would you say infl uence you and why?

My mom because of the way she used to

make her own clothes and was really gifted

with her hands.

In the fashion industry who do you look up

to and why?

The person I really look up to is Yevit Sante

Lorane because of the way he does not lim-

it himself.

I understand that you have previously en-

tered the Vodacom July competition, have

you ever won it if not which position has fi n-

ished in and how many times have you en-

tered?

I have entered the Vodacom July for three

years in a row and have managed to be one of

the fi nalists; unfortunately there is no second

and third place which means they can only be

one winner.

What lessons have you drawn from entering

such a competition?

I have leant that you may never know what the

judges want and that it is never fair.

Where do you see yourself in the next fi ve

years as a fashion designer?

I see my clothing label being one of the most

successful in the country in fact in the whole

world.

Is it easy to crack it in the fashion industry?

To be really honest, it is not easy but very tough

and needs people who are passionate, it is one

of the challenges you could ever be faced with.

What challenges have you been faced with?

Getting my clothing label to be sold in one of

the major retailers.

What would you say to young people who wants

to get into the fashion industry?

I would encourage them to study and not to

get in this industry for the glitz and glam but to

do it cause it’s something that they are really

passionate about.

What is the most important thing to you?

Education is the key to everything, I mean

without education you are nothing no matter

how talented you may be in whatever you do.

What would you say about the youth sustaining

our customs?

It is important for us to sustain and preserve

our customs for our children because they are

important as they teach us moral values and I

think getting rid of them would be the biggest

mistake ever made. I also wish that everyone

shows appreciation of our beautiful heritage

that we have in South Africa to the whole world.

L I F E S T Y L E

E N T E R T A I N M E N T D E T A I LM O V I E S M U S I C W E L I K E T E L E V I S I O N

TOP BILLING GOES REAL

SABC 3’s prime time magazine show “Top Billing” brings a new dimension for its viewers by do-ing a partly reality TV. In this twist the viewers are taken through Top Billing’s country-wide search for the next Top Billing presenter. With Jeannie D as the lead judge in the competition the viewers get to see some of the entertaining and funny moments of SA TV. It has become evident that Jeannie D, a very prominent feature of Top Billing, is a sweetheart for thou-sands of followers of the show. She was voted 2007 Most Popular Female Celebrity by readers of YOU magazine. Jeannie D is the face of Garnier.Jeannie D has also gone and designed a sexy collection of evening gear for Foschini.So while this reality TV feature of top Billing is fun, we hope the cam-era continues to focus on Jeannie D, and if you are a man you understand what this mean.

ANGIE DOES IT AGAIN

OK, It’s no lie, we enjoy her mov-ies. She has taken over the likes of Sharon Stone for “femme fatale” villian characters ad is doing a great job. In her latest movie, Salt, Ange-lina Jolie proves to many once again that she takes her acting career seri-ously and demonstrates a great deal of depth in her skills and talent.

In this KGB-SPY-Flick thriller she potrays her Russian spy role in a similar way as her las movie, “wanted“. in both these movies she is dangerous, reckless and full of terror and destruction, but never move away from being ever seduc-tive and desirable.

KULTURE NOIR

A mix of contemporary and ec-clectic afro-pop sounds is what one experiences when listening to the freely moving accoustic guitar melodies found in this latest, and probably the most potent, project by Simphiwe Dana. Her enchant-ing voice and depht of vocal talent causes one to pay more attention to detail and experience Dana at her best. Kulture Noir is indeed, full of cuture.

L I F E S T Y L E

About the Academy

Izichwe Football Academy is an academy that recruits, train and develop young soccer players in around Pietermaritzburg between the ages of 8-15. These players are then coached and developed by a team of qualifi ed coaches, with the assistance of the support staff that includes nutritionists and physiotherapists. The programme encompasses training and coaching; medical assistance; life skills, supplements. The key thing is diet. I have to ensure that the boys have adequate and proper food.

Vision

I want to use game as a vehicle to empower young people with skills which will help them lead proper lives at family, community and national level. We want to grow the kind of men who know responsibility to others before self. The name Izichwe is derived from King Shaka’s young regiments, whom he trained and prepared for war.

We don’t play soccer till we die. So life skills are important than specialised talent. With life skills you

are able to handle all stages of development without being nuisance to any of your close friends. The game taught me the value of giving back which is scarce commodity particularly to us blacks. We have become self-centred. It’s all about individuals now. Some people can’t even buy aR100 soccer ball for young kids but have no problem buying a R1000 bottle of whiskey. The Value of life cannot be equated with life materials. Materials things will never give complete fulfi lment; we get it from work and the relationships that we establish with others. There is nothing that fulfi ls me more than having the opportunity to do things for others, who are disadvantaged than me. In life no one succeeds without the help of others. Even a criminal requires assistance to succeed.

Also, I have been writing that it easy and not expensive to develop soccer players, therefore this was an opportunity for me to put that in practise. Obviously this does require huge investment of time and knowledge. It does not happen overnight.

Funding

The Academy was initially funded by the Lotto Board,

Developing Thabo Dladla, the former Assistant Coach of the South African under 23 Soccer Sydney

2000 Olympic Squad, has started Izichwe Youth Football Academy to develop young football talent in the country. Dladla is an accredited SAFA Coaching Instructor, former coach of AmaZulu FC and is currently with the University of KwaZulu Natal as a Sports Offi cer on the Pietermaritzburg Campus. As a successful coach, trainer of coaches, who counts Manqoba Mnqithi-the highly rated AmaZulu coach, who engineered the massacre of Ajax Cape Town FC in the last seasons’ MTN Wafa Wafa in style with Golden Arrows before moving to neighbouring rivals AmaZulu- amongst his former students; Dladla has sought to use his experience to give back to the football fraternity. He was previously in charge of the Transnet academy in Imbali in the late 1990’s where talent such Mbulelo Mabizela were unearthed. Dladla started out at a teacher at Siyahlomula High at Ashdown Township but later acquired a qualifi cation in Sports Science. Enterprise Exposure caught up with this experienced coach to fi nd out about his recent initiative and his vision.

EXPOSURE52

S P O R T S

who gave us R300 000 for a period of 3 years. The funds cover the salaries of 4 coaches, training and playing equipments. We also have a strategic partnership with Viking FC from Norway that was facilitated by a visiting Professor from Norway. His son played for the youth academy of Viking and he requested that I train him while he was here at the University of KwaZulu Natal on a sabbatical. In May 2009, I visited Viking Football Club in Norway and also invited them to SA. In November 2009, a delegation from Viking FC visited us here and we concluded an agreement to work with them. They provided R130 000 funding for each year for the duration of a three years and the mini-bus we use to transport the players from town to training and to games. There will also recruit one of our players who does well to go and play in Norway.

Player identifi cation and development

I hosted talent identifi cation in Sweetwaters, Imbali, Edendale and Eastwood. It was not possible to cover all areas. Anyway the aim of the club is to give some of the kids’ proper training to enable their development. It’s a not a business project but a developmental initiative. 42 kids are currently part of the academy.

Academy Programme

The club started in training in January 2010. Every day I fetch the kids from town after school, normally around 15h00. Training starts at 17h00, Monday to

Friday. We also train on Saturday if we do not have matches.

Parental Support

The support from parents is not bad. We had a 99% attendance rate for the workshop we organised for them when we started the academy to explain the programme worked and other issues. Feedback from parents has been very positive. We also know that there is no school for parenting. It takes skilful parents to bring up level-headed kids. We are also looking for an attorney who will do contracts for these kids and look after their interest if they are being pursued by bigger teams. Even parents suggested legal controls to ensure the programme is not exposed to sharks.

Soccer Legends Training Programme

In terms of this programme, we help to train some of the guys that use to play football with modern techniques and empower them so they are to give back to the development of the game. Those that demonstrate potential will be introduced to SAFA level 1 coaching. Every nation must not forget its past legends. There is no dustbin to throw away people. We need also explain to them that a legend is someone who has made an impact and continue to make an impact. They should thus promote the sport and get involved in social awareness campaigns.

FUTURE STARS

EXPOSURE 53

S P O R T S

W Cedding a-la arte

The tradition of going to a wedding has some-what left many apprehensive as a result of the lack of hospitality at these events. Zen Africa turned the tables around and changed our

entire attitude on such when they prepared dif-ferent kinds of delicious filling in-between event snacks for Futhi’s wedding. Guests a this high profile wedding were treated to a variety of delicious pas-tries and fruit kebabs.

These treats are ideal for a fast-paced party panning but brings a relaxed fel to the oc-cassion. the bite size surface are make them handy, which make them enjoyable in a cock-tail affair

We shoot this feature in Greytown, in the mid-lands. We are experiencing spring and a beau-tiful view of the midlands landscape. At the lake the breeze is fresh. this pace is abuzz with weding ocassions and theres enough space for all these functions to occur without getting in the way og each other.

The bride and groom are looking like fairy tale. The guests have arived already and are seat-ed. This is one of the kind wedding occassion.

The bride and groom are here at this beautiful vnue to exchange vows of an already sealed wedding. It is hasically a sharing of a festivity with family and friends.

The occasion doesn’t take that long before the guests are taken to a side serving station to enjoy a variety of pastries as appertisers and snacks before the reception.

Savory pastries included a variety of tartlets, pastry puff, and samoosas. From meaty ham, mutton curry, asparagus and cheese, to feta cheese and spinach. Puff pastry sticks sea-soned with cheese and lemon zest were also the order of the day. The fruit kebabs were a combination of spring citrus fruits such as or-anges, narchies, and the ever-so-romantic strawberries. These kebabs were poked on or-ange halves decorated with porcupine.

Savoury tartlets can be enjoyed with pure ap-ple or grape juice but are best enjoyed with dry red wines such as merlot or Chiraz if en-joyed before meals or with wines such as Char-donnay if enjoyed after meals

EXPOSURE54

F O O D & D I N I N G

Left: A variety of scrum-tuous tartlets savoured with feta chesse, spir-nach, chicken, bacon, mutton, spoked beef, salmon, etc.

Right: Lady trying a chicken-savoured pastry tartlet.

Savoury Pastry Tartlets

Right: Some pastry puff sticks seasoned with salted butter, cheeze, and lemn zest were star at-traction at the event

Left: Lady trying the pas-try puff sticks

Pastry Puf Sticks

Left to Right: Sring was a theme for this occas-sion and food becomes a season symbol in this as these succuent fruit ke-babs symbolised spring.

Fruit Kebabs

EXPOSURE 55

F O O D & D I N I N G

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THE AVENUE FOR SUCCESSenterprise exposure magazine

The dawn of the season, the buzz of colour, ocean breeze and hot sunny days, surf is up and the Beach front is just abuzz with people of all races enjoying long walks by the beach, swimming, and surfi ng . Coincidentally a series of fashion shows are happen-ing in and around the inner city. Enterprise Exposure Magazine was based at the Garden Court Hotel to profi le Spring Day in Durban.

L E I S U R E & T R A V E L

DURBAN BY PANORAMA

PLAYGROUND IS OPEN

EXPOSURE58

L E I S U R E & T R A V E L

Opposite, Above, and Below: Panoramic Picture ode of Durban Beach Front taken on Spring Day

EQUIPMENT:Fujifi lm FinePix S1800,

Picture Mode: Automatic, Panoramic,

SUBJECT: Durban Beach Front:

The Fujifi lm FinePix S1800 is not a Single Lens Refl ex (SLR) Camera, however it is useful for exploring advanced photographic technique such as controlling the depth of fi eld, and expo-sure. This makes it sit, in terms of performance, above automatic digital cameras while it sits be-low the entry-level SLR. It is equipped with 18x optical zoom, 12.2 megapixel, an image stabiliz-ing feature and Panorama mode for your scen-ery such as these pictures of this feature.

FEATURES:

EXPOSURE 59

F A S H I O N

SMME FAIRDURBAN FASHION SHOW

HIGHLIGHTS

EXPOSURE60

E V E N T S & S O C I E T Y

Embodiment Of

Hlumani Ndlovu’s, 24, from KwaMpande in Vulindlela Pietermaritzburg, has walked the journey of academia with perseverance and matchless commitment to become one of the bright prospects in the fi eld of science. From the semi-rural Mpande high, Hlumani sought to use his unfavourble background as a motivation rather than a hindrance to his success. With fi rst class pass for all his degrees and Deans Commendations from the University of KwaZulu Natal, this young fellow from a family of 6 (a brother and 4 sisters) has moved to the University of Cape Town where he is currently pursuing a PhD degree in Immunology. In his time he has received Duncan Baxter Scholarship (merit scholarship awarded at UCT); French Embassy Scholarship; NRF Masters Prestigious and Equity scholarship; NRF Honours Scarce Skills Scholarship; Victor Daitz Foundation Scholarship; International Training Group 1522 Scholarship (includes a six month exchange with a German university)amongst others. Having been a shy and reserved fellow, Hlumani has come out of his shell mixing science wit music, as a part-time music production student and an articulate young leader with deep commitment to academic excellence and the rise of black researchers. Here he shares his success, vision and opinion on topical issues with the Chief Editor of Enterprise Exposure. Read on…

Academic Excellence

HLUMANI NDLOVU

C A R E E R

EXPOSURE 67

What made you decide to study bio-chemistry, genetics and microbiology? Why did you choose this degree and how did you know about particular line of scientifi c fi eld?

I guess if you are really motivated you try and get as much information as possible. I saw small booklet in the library advertising this degree. At that point I was still trying to fi gure out where my interest lay because I was not interested in your typical prestigious degrees like engineering, accounting, medicine etc. so I decided to settle for this qualifi cation.

What was your main achievement in your undergraduate? My main achievement was fi nishing my degree with cum laude and in record time. Secondly, was the fi rst black to fi nish the degree in time, let alone fi nish the degree in the prescribed time. When I came there were quite a number of old guys who couldn’t fi nish their degree. There was this chemistry course that most people failed. So not many students, black ones in particular, who went on to do biochemistry as a comprehensive degree with the three strands that I was doing. I was also a member of Golden Key at this time and received several awards and from second year onwards I received Dean’s commendations. I remember I also got another scholarship from NRF for being the top third year student. Some of the smaller scholarships I can’t really remember. In 2006 I went on to do my honours in biochemistry. I was also the top biochemistry student in that year, passing with cum laude. I was awarded some prestigious NRF funding for honours of a value of R50 000. It was enough to cover my fees and got some change. I was also awarded a GV Quicke Book Prize Award.

Then what happened after that? In 2007-June 2009, I was doing my Msc. in Biochemistry, also using NRF Scholarship funding. I also received another scholarship from the French Embassy, which was organized by my co-supervisor- who is a French scientist. I still applied for it but he wrote the motivation for me. I also passed my masters with Cum Laude as well. In all the cum laudes that I got, I put more value in my masters degree more than the other ones.

Why is that?At undergraduate level anyone can get a cum laude, if you can just cram your course. But at masters level that’s when you see that you are a good researcher. It shows that you have mastered

your topic; been able to answer all the research question and more importantly, that you are capable of writing sound academic material. It’s no use having good results but unable to write well. It showed that I can survive in the world of science as a scientist and could be published. That’s why I say my masters’ degree is the most signifi cant amongst all my other qualifi cations. If you want to go further like do your PhD, they always look at your grades or publication records; it’s one of the two. So since I wasn’t published, the grades were really important since I moved from here in KZN to UCT. There they do not accept just anybody, you have to show that you have the potential to be a good researcher; you can be independent and drive your research by yourself. So it a good masters grade really helped opened opportunities for me. Now I am doing a PhD in Immunology. We are trying to understand immunobiology of a parasite to fi nd answers about some of the neglected diseases so that we can recommend for their cures.

In 2002 you are a Matric student at Mpande High and 2010 you are a PhD candidate at UCT, with all these accolades, how did this happen? It’s all about hard work for me. What I learnt from my background was that I had to be an individual. I had to guide myself in terms of where I want to go. In the end, we can all have degrees but what sets us apart from the next person? So I realized that coming from my situation I needed to go as far as possible with my education. In that way I would be an expert in the fi eld. It’s hard to be studying while your buddies are driving Golf V, while you are barely surviving. It’s all about self motivation.

Where would you like to see yourself in the next fi ve years, after all this? What I have seen over the years as a student is that government is spending a lot of money on this biotech companies. There is a demand worldwide. So I want to be there as well exploiting those opportunities. Not only as a researcher but a businessman. Most of the companies are currently run by foreign guys, and not many South Africans who have the specifi c knowhow and business acumen to be in charge. So my next ambition is to get business acumen, maybe do an MBA so that I can explore the opportunities that are coming up everywhere. We need capable South Africans to run their own companies. South African economy is based on minerals. Eventually these minerals will run out capacity for knowledge economy must be developed.

“My main achievement was fi nishing my degree with cum

laude and in record time”

“We need capable South Africans to run their own

companies”

A C A D E M I A

EXPOSURE68

Companies would fi ght over someone with your resume, why have you not jumped into the corporate sector? You have more freedom as an expert, to be able to do what I want and when I want to do it. I use to fi ght a lot with my supervisor during masters because he would say be here at 7 and I would only come at 10, but for the important thing was getting the job done, but at the times which were fl exible for me. So I want to be a valued member of staff, where they would say here is the job, do what you want. I just want to have freedom.

Why is it hard for blacks, in particular, to get into scientifi c fi elds?What I have realized is that blacks have the tendency to have things brought to them all the time, they don’t want to go out there and fi ght for opportunities. Even now, government is making so many opportunities available but not many people are taking advantage of these opportunities. If I can make an example, providing funding there is money for people to do PhD, but how many are there, very few. You can go to any institution and look at PhD candidates in any university in South Africa, if there are black; they are mostly from SADC and other African countries. What does that say about South Africa? They want to go out there and earn a minimum wage. And live comfortable lives. They don’t want to work hard and really be pioneers in their fi elds. That’s the problem. We are comfortable at certain levels and we don’t want to go beyond that. Opportunities are there and means of access are also available but there is no one who is prepared to go there.

Why do you believe is the reason for the dearth of lack of this entrepreneurial spirit, especially amongst darkies?It’s just a tendency to be lazy a bit. We want success and we want it today. Nobody seems willing to invest over a long period of time, let’s say you invest your energy for a ten year period. We think about the today and tomorrow but business success takes time. We want to be driving a Range Rover tomorrow. I guess the transition from apartheid affected us in a way because now we’re driven by the material interest. We don’t want to work for a longer period. Once we realize that having a tender is not really a business; once you instil that value to people that they have to do some serious work, then there would be a shift.

I’m the only Black South African in my lab currently. Government has a PhD project where they are trying to recruit more students to do PhDs. Every year they have a conference in Joburg to attract students to study further. But the issue is where are these students? Right now we have so many problems in our

public sector and private companies and there are consistent questions about the competencies of company and Departments management.

The scientifi c fi eld is still considered to be a preserve of white scientists. In your studies you have been the only black student in a fi eld that is largely dominated by white people, have you encountered the problem of racism? At undergrad level it tends to affect you. Even though it was there but it didn’t affect me that much. My focus was that I will not be a victim. My assessment was that if there is anyone standing in my way I go over those people to get where I want. That has always been my mentality. Racism will always be there. But it is how we handle it that makes a difference. It’s important as well for us to get out of comfort zone and stop crying racism all the time. We also need to expose ourselves to different culture, meaning we have to travel.

People that come from poor background are normally under

the pressure to study so that they can get a job as soon as possible so they can fulfi l family responsibilities, how has been your situation with regards to this. Has there been pressure for you to go work? My background is not rosy. I come from a very poor family. My thought was that I can go out there and work and we live a comfortable life but I would suffer for the rest of my life. Earning a bare minimum, or I could choose to go as far as I can but earn more in future and be able to fulfi l those responsibilities in much faster pace than you would have. Sometimes even now, I make more than some of the guys who are working as a student with scholarships. Therefore I am even able to support my family with all this fi nancial support. Some people choose the easy way out, go work, buy second hand car, and afford your Heineken beer in your little fl at but in the end you still a slave. It’s like going to being qualifi ed but still remains uneducated. It’s a trap for us black young professionals, but we must resist it. We always see our background as a disadvantage; I see it as an advantage, something to motivate me in that I come from there how I can change my situation for the better. So what is the point if my family would live in the same house that they lived in when I was born in 1986 but I have been working for fi ve years? Clearly there is something wrong there. That is it important to assess whether you will be able to make an impact in your family and community with your qualifi cation. In the end we all have to make sacrifi ces.

“What I have realized is that blacks have the tendency to have things brought to them all the time, they

don’twant to go out there and fi ght for

opportunities.”

“My background is not rosy. I come from a very poor family. My thought was that I can go out there and work and we live a comfortable life but I

would suffer for the rest of my life ”

A C A D E M I A

EXPOSURE 69

The trap that you talking about also extend to the conception of success which has a historical bias towards material possession, what is your take? Really, it is a tragedy in a way because we go through all these years in school and still we are not able to drive our own ideas, to be independent in thoughts and everything. We always want to depend on to other people to employ you, to rent a place from, to ask for a loan to pay for a car and that is a problem etc. We success in terms of how people perceive us and what we possess. We are always concerned about where you live and what

label you were. Those are wrong indicators of success. For me though, success is about being the best in what you do. What impact can you make to the next person? If you can’t move your neighbour from Point A-B, you can’t assist your own family; I don’t think you are a very successful person. Success for me as scientist means that I have to be the best in my fi eld, published in the best journals, attend the key note conferences. If you are a plumber, be the best plumber in the world to the extent that a person from Joburg would ask for you to do his work. Our problem is that we are reluctant to become specialists; we are

more concerned about making an impression to the public. This is also driven by the expectations of society.

What is your opinion on the deployment policy and do you think has been its main impact in all the structures of society in the country? I guess the ANC as the governing party has their own reasons for this policy. For me it’s all about application. Policy on its own does not yield results. It depends on how we implement it. If they had major criteria for deploying individuals then it could be better because it could mean they deploy the best person for the job depending whether its health, education etc. Problems come when deployment is about connections. Right the deployment policy is not working. You can make so many examples but it comes down to deployment. We should be using the best personnel available to serve the people; people that have public interest at heart. As black people we must learn to train ourselves that not anything that is challenging is negative, instead we must see such as opportunities for us to apply ourselves and prove our capabilities. There will always be oppressors and people that will discourage you will always be there but it is up to you as an individual to prove doubters wrong. It is really up to you as to how you change all the negative. In fact this speaks directly to how we perceive ourselves. If a nobody just come wanting to be the Director of National Research Foundation or Medical research Foundation, people will look at your track record. Who are you? So it starts there. So if you have proved yourself and have a good pedigree, then no one will question your credentials. So this means that we must recruit the best people for the job and they will not have the problem of having to prove themselves over and over again.

“As black people we must learn to train ourselves that not anything that is challenging is negative, instead we must see such as opportunities for us to apply ourselves and prove

our capabilities..”

A C A D E M I A

EXPOSURE70

Varsity College Pietermaritzburg Fashion Show

F A S H I O N

EXPOSURE 71

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RP

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EE X P O S U R E

Owned and published by Bombwave Media

Editorial:Thabani Mkhize

Design and layout:Andile Mncube

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THE AVENUE FOR SUCCESS

enterprise exposure magazine - sept/oct 2010

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