A true inpiration..

21 November 2014

Today, I am finding it hard to express the kind of joy that I feel about this post, as it is very relevant to the topic of this blog. I want to tell you about a very special person, Mr Siphatho Handi.

I read an article about him and the soccer club he currently is with, Relatives FC that’s situated in Mdantsane. It was last week's Friday Daily Dispatch in the sports section.

The man is known for producing boxing Olympians at Amateur level and world champions in the professional rank. However, he is now focusing on soccer so that he could produce future Bafana Bafana stars from Mdantsane.

The team he is investing in plays in the SAB Regional league. When he was asked by the Daily Dispatch why he was doing this now, he said he saw the need to go back to football primarily for two reasons. To ensure that there was youth development and secondly they needed security in their community because at the time NU3 was ravaged by crime. He said they felt they needed to organize young people in their community to make sure they kept themselves busy with something constructive, away from crime.

Another reason he chose to come back to soccer was because some parents of the community pleaded that he did, as their children didn’t know how to play boxing, something which makes sense as we cannot all be interested in the same things.

He says his aim is to recruit players only from Mdantsane, they are a community team. He feels that opportunities must be given to the local boys.

He is the one that bought the SAB status with the aim of motivating youngsters. Just as I have mentioned in my previous posts, it becomes really difficult for players that come from Mdantsane to emerge to higher leagues, many players give up on their dreams of playing professionally. As I also said, some people might not be as gifted as others academically, so it is best that they succeed in somethings they are really good at and passionate about. Therefore, because he acknowledges that he has made it his mission to create opportunities of this sort.

It is evident that he is all about development, spotting talent, nurturing it and helping those youngsters to be whatever they wish to be.

 There’s nothing painful to me than seeing someone who was regarded as the best of what he could do, poor, a drunkard or and someone with no hope, who’s just living because he is still breathing. I like what this man has done, he is a God sent. I wish people could learn from this and do the same, not necessarily in soccer or sports at large, but also in other aspects. I’m truly inspired, I hope you have too out there.  

13 October 2014

Today I thought of the road that I have traveled to get to where I am now. I might not be far, but I am definitely somewhere great, somewhere someone else wishes to be, I am in university doing a diploma in Journalism. I have come a long way, I have been through hell and back before I decided what I really wanted to do in life.

During the time I was growing up, just like many others I dreamed of becoming many things in life like, a doctor, scientist, a sportsman, an artist and so on. The biggest mistake I made was when I decided to go and do Nature Conservation. To be honest, at the time I was really desperate, I had spent the whole year doing nothing, no work, nothing at all. I remember that I had always wanted to do something involving Life Sciences (Biology), at least that’s what I thought would be the core of the course I wished to pursue. I thought the course would have many aspects involving Life Sciences as a field of study, without having done proper research.

I went to university to study it and it was hell. I spent that year failing, not attending, partying, doing all sorts of things that a less-interested student could do. I didn’t like the subject at all, not even a little bit.

I sat down and thought of the things that fascinated me, things that I enjoy doing. I enjoy music, sport, researching, I like finding out about things, I enjoy communicating, mostly I like telling stories, I like engaging in positive talks, ones that develop and inspire people. I have always viewed myself as someone who is a motivator. I wish to have my own talk show or my own slot on radio or television, whereby I would chat with people about the problems we face in South Africa and the rest of the world.

That is how I decided to do what I am doing now. I know Journalism is a broad field. I might end up in other parts of it like print, where I wouldn’t get the chance to share my own views and be subjective. However I would really love to have a show which would allow me to interact with people and probably help them deal with whatever problems they might have, or the problems we face every day as a country. I wish to be like Sibusiso Leope (DJ Sbu) and play a role in developing other people’s lives. I wish to have a show which I would discuss all that I share with people on this blog.

This post might not seem like I am developing anyone now, but it is. I want people to be sure of what they want and do in life, as every decision we make affects the whole of our lives. I want schools to be there for students who have to make career decisions, parents as well in communities. All the above should teach someone somewhere something, so that they do not make the same mistakes I made.  

Not all dreams come true!!!

06 November 2014

They say in life one must always dream in order to become someone, that one must turn those dreams into goals and work towards achieving them. Some make it seem as if whoever dreams enough will make it in life. It is not the case for some people, and yeah I know what people say when one has failed to achieve their goals, they would say that person never tried hard enough. That might be the case, but sometimes that person might have been deprived of opportunities to deliver.

I grew up having many dreams, but mostly all of them were based on the things that I saw I had talents in. I could draw, sing and dance. I remember one time I was so in to music, wishing that I was going to use it together with my dancing ability to be like the late Micheal Jackson. I attended an arts center where I reside, and saw no much progress made by the people that try to sing where I live, as a matter of fact we have very few people that made it into the music industry where live, in Mdantsane.

Times changed, and I fell in love with soccer. I was so in love with it that I could not think of anything else that I could do but to play it. It was what I ate, what I dreamed of at night, it was all I thought of during the day. In the morning, I would be at school, or on campus and I wouldn’t wait for the time that I would go to gym.

I was not alone of course. My friends, fellow students and people from my area, were all in to the sport that we even dreamed of playing professionally for teams that we have today nationally, we even dreamed bigger to play for teams overboard, like the likes of your Manchester United and Real Madrid.

Unfortunately none of us are even playing in the National First Division. Why? I say it’s lack of support from the relevant people in these departments. I fail to understand why talent search teams would omit some places, what about other people who cannot make it to those selected places due to lack of money.

The Nedbank Keyona team search only visited a few places in Eastern Cape. Why? East London has soccer fields if that was to be their excuse for example. Not only this type of talent search does this, even for music, acting, singing and so on, for example the Idols SA have never been to East London, they like the Nedbank Keyona Team search end up in Port Elizerbeth. Rural areas suffer mostly due to this. Now hear me out, I’m not saying no talent searches ever take place in places like these, however there’s a short percentage which does, even if there would be selected people they never really make it that far.

It’s not that the Eastern Cape lacks talent, I feel it is not focused on that much.

I find it so ironic that the government and relevant people would fight violence and crime by NOT giving people what they need, a CHANCE to succeed through what they are GOOD at, there’s a lot of talent in the Eastern Cape, and there’s still going to be a lot, pity that people won’t really go far, they’ll only “DREAM” of being best, this country favours some people and places.