Education goes a long way.

28 October 2014

In the apartheid era, it is said that Black people here in South Africa were deprived of many opportunities by the then government, one of them included education. What could one possibly do without knowing? There’s a saying that goes if you know better, you do better. This applies everyday in our lives. To make a simple example, take opening a door for instance. In order for one to do that, they would need to know how it is opened. They wouldn’t automatically know how to open it even though they had no experience of opening it at all, whether of seeing it being opened in front of them or they being shown how to open it. Some are slid-over, some are pulled and some are pushed, and usually, many would have signs showing people how to open them. If a person is uneducated, they wouldn’t be able to read the sign at the door denoting how they could open it. Coming to the point, that’s exactly how important education is to people, we basically cannot function without it. Education enables one with capabilities, it gives them capacity to open many “doors”.

Freedom came, South Africa became liberated, and education was now accessible to everyone, including the Black nation. What I see happening now though is the exact opposite of what was happening back then. People nowadays toy with education, we do not take it seriously. This is merely because many of us now weren’t part of the struggles that led to this freedom we have today. Just because many of us as the youth of today are educated in a way, we don’t know then how it feels like being uneducated, we could never know how it felt like being a black man then, we can only imagine it.

If there’s one thing that troubles me really, it is the level at which pupils are just dropping out of school. Where I live there are many, and now they have turned to alcohol and drugs, that is all they know. It bothers me so much that I wish I could do something, anything. I suggest that the schools together with the government find ways to motivate students to stay at school, they could do that through making them enjoy both their academic work together with activities they could be involved in. Schools nowadays aren’t encouraging sports, arts and what not. At least if a person doesn’t do that well at school, they could be motivated to do so through performing better at these extra activities. They could use both the activities and their academic record to score a place in universities that would allow them to persue their careers at either of the two or all together.  

21 October 2014

Equality is far from being reached in the Eastern Cape

Why is it that we are called an equal nation when I see nothing that says we are? There might be something that we all share, however, people who don’t have money are still the ones that suffer. It is clear to see that people with money are the ones more comfortable living than ones who don’t. I am not saying people should just be handed things to or given money; however, it is useless to say that we are all equal when there’s a lot of unemployment in underprivileged places like the Eastern Cape. Not so long ago, in the previous quarter, this province was regarded to be the most hard hit by unemployment.

I will always refer to my hometown when I am talking about issues like this as it is the only place I know the most, since I haven’t really traveled a lot.

 Here's another issue. Where I live in Mdantsane, I personally think schools there are not up to standard in terms of education, infrastructure, facilities and extra mural activities. The education the students get there is not the same as the one the kids in suburbs receive. Why is it that a student who studies in a school in the suburbs will have better chances of being enrolled for a course in university than one who comes from a village school or one in the townships? Why is it that the students who study in the suburbs perform better in their exams than the ones from underprivileged schools, why would they perform better even in sports played around the province and end up having more of a chance of being selected to play for national teams? I think it’s all with the standard difference between them; the money invested into the schools isn't the same. The schools in the suburbs have better infrastructures, better equipment, better education and so on, they are just better at almost everything.

One example of differences in facilities between the schools is the fields. In terms of infrastructure and facilities, it is clear that village and township schools are at the bottom class. The fields in the villages and townships are so not in good conditions, they are very uncomfortable to play or to compete in, while the ones in suburbs are up to standard.

I know these are things that have always been in the faces of people every time, I get that. I know people might be asking, why bring up issues that we are aware of?

The reason is mainly because I don’t see the changes that are said to have taken place over the years, I don’t see any improvement. Another is that it seems like we as the general public aren't doing anything about it. I want us to discuss possible ways to alter these things.

What do you think should happen now people? Clearly the strategies and leaderships in place now have failed us.

14 October 2014

There are a lot of things that trouble me about the Eastern Cape. I will not lie, I haven’t really traveled a lot and got to experience how other places’ conditions here are, however it’s no rocket science to prove that there’s a lot that has to be done here. Someone commented in one of my posts and suggested that people do not only need to depend on the government in order for them to develop themselves or to get something going, but should also try to educate themselves and find ways to create opportunities for themselves as they could find that there are many, but due to ignorance, those opportunities pass them by. I agree with that view, really sometimes we get to expect a lot to be done for us.

One example of someone who’s doing his work without government assistance is Vido Mtekwana who is from Mdantsane nu.8 and owns a gym there by the name Sisonke Boxing club. Today open/armature boxing isn't that much of a focus and is in danger of running out of funds. His gym might not be in perfect condition but has produced a number of talents in the sport and has been running since 1995. He is a teacher and is also a trainer and manager of the boxing club and has produced a number of talented fighters who are disciplined and schooled. Four out of ten boxers from there have represented South Africa in this year’s Commonwealth games. Under him are Siphiwe Lusizi, a welterweight southpaw who also took part in 2012’s London Olympic games, and female  world champion Noni Tempe, who’s had both titles at once, the World Boxing Federation and IFB welterweight crowns.

Mr. Mtekwana says open clubs are struggling financially and that the government only lands a helping hand when the fighters reach national championships. He says, “At grassroots, where things start, there is no support. This just shows you that we at open boxing level are doing a lot with very little”. To make matters worse for him, he has to make sure that the club stays alive by renting R 4000 a month, and that’s not the only amount he pays and to think that he only charges the fighters a fee of R 20 a month. Despite the hardships he faces, he still goes on, as he feels like it is his calling to help develop his community.

One can also think and do a lot of other things to develop their community, there are a lot of ideas that people have, and they just need to be implemented. I advise that people think about ways they can do things for themselves and give back to their communities. 

A broad, serious change is needed in the Eastern Cape.

07 October 2014

I still feel like there’s not enough being done to develop Eastern Cape underprivileged residents. Almost all activities end up going to places like Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, and Durban. Talent scouts of all kind focus 'mostly' on those places, and exclude many Eastern Cape cities and townships, except in some instances Port Elizabeth.

I feel like there’s a lot of talk and no action, all you’d see are writings in websites, newspapers or listen to government officials talk nicely that there are plans that are going to be implemented aimed at developing the youth of today. In the end only a few places get to benefit from all of that. I see no change in the area that I live in and in the Eastern Cape in general.

Not all schools even participate in sports, even singing competitions and others that could encourage youth involvement in activities. The involvement of the youth in these things helps them learn many skills they could use in life. They learn to work in teams, they learn to accept one another for who they are, they learn to get along with each other. They also learn to respect their teachers, instructors, the general public and leaders of their communities. Besides all that, they get to feel passion for what they do, and have a sense of belonging as they would have peers and parents or siblings away from home. They also get a sense of feel of travelling to many places and enjoy the experience whilst learning to be champions and in the process forgeting about their difficult home situations and upbringings.

These activities are scarce nowadays, only a few schools and communities still practice them. This all results to the youth easily influenced by bad things they would see in the media and be encouraged to drink, smoke drugs, ‘have fun’, or spend money on expensive clothing like there’s no tomorrow. Instead, they should be paying attention to useful programmes, ones that could make them responsible adults some day. There isn’t that much change I see, all I see is people that I grew up with going to jail, dying, or being involved in wrong things. Another alternative from the government and communities is in serious need, a different approach. The government of today hasn’t really been that successful, as crime is still on the rise, there’s less transformation and more crime.