Author: Karabo Dikobe

By KARABO DIKOBE Once you find something you are passionate about it, run with it. Opportunities will reveal themselves to you – as they did for 58-year-old PhD holder Deon ‘Div’ de Villiers. De Villiers was recently awarded his PhD in biodiversity conservation on the Wild Coast by Rhodes University 15 years after obtaining his MSc at the University of the Transkei (Unitra). Like his PhD, his MSc focussed on things that interest him – forests and mammals. He has worked in conservation for 38 years, 30 of them focused on the Wild Coast. His thesis explores the tensions between Western-style…

By KARABO DIKOBE Three extraordinary women considered the prospects and challenges for mother-tongue writing at a recent seminar to wrap up Heritage Month held by the African Languages Section under the Rhodes School of Languages. Dr Kanakana Ladzani is a feminist literature and language professor. She grew up in Venda and with the notion that school was her first husband. She believes in self-discovery through reading and writing, especially in mother tongue languages. She called on parents, teachers, and elders to regenerate African moral systems to help the youth locate their roots. Lerato Trok grew up in Kuruman with a mom…