By CHESLEY DANIELS In a titanic humdinger between Kowie United and Ndlambe Tigers, it was the hosts, Kowie, who claimed the bragging rights with a nail-biting 26-20 win. The Port Alfred Derby was played at the Station Hill Sports Ground in Port Alfred on Saturday as part of the EPRU Sedru Regional League second-round fixture. Kowie enjoyed a healthy 16-5 lead at the break. With the win, it’s now official that Kowie United are the Champs and the number one team in Port Alfred. They were crowned champs after winning both their league matches against Tigers in the competition and…
Author: Rod Amner
FRIDAY 15 JULY Kurt Stone with Selena GrantEpic Folk Rock@ SSS, 19b New Street21:00R30Enquiries: Mike 0824773689 Socialite FridayDJ Bunju, DJ Jeff & DJ Supabhova@ Infinity Lounge, 55 New StreetFree entryTable bookings: 0849168353 / 0710781515 _____________________________ SATURDAY 16 JULY Parkrun@ The Bot Gardens, Lucas AvenueRegister online: https://www.parkrun.co.za/register/08:00Free Furniture Auction@ The Scout Hall, African Street10:00More details on the “Frontier Auctions” Facebook pageCraig 0763123514 67 for Mandela Day & SPCA Grahamstown67 minutes – walking dogs, playing with puppies, cuddling bunnies and cats, feeding donkeys…@ SPCA, Old Bay Road10:00 – 12:00Enquiries: 0466223233 KaraokeSing your heart out with host, Tristan@ SSS, 19b New Street21:00 –…
By STAFF REPORTER In the lead-up to Mandela Day on Monday, 18 July, Metropolitan and FunDza Literacy Trust have partnered to launch a new edition of their free online financial literacy course, Making it with the Majolas. The online financial literacy course centres around the Majolas, a fictional South African family. The story follows their daily lives as they navigate challenges and opportunities that affect their finances. Through their story and in understanding the characters’ challenges, readers are introduced to various vital financial literacy concepts, skills and tools. This third edition follows the first two instalments – Moving up with the Majolas and That Majola…
By NOBUHLE ZULU and ATHULE MKHULI “We must go back to doing what our ancestors did because we can’t afford to buy fertilizer from Russia anymore,” says Dr Garth Cambray. Makhanda residents gathered at the Umthathi Training Centre on Tuesday for the Food Sovereignty Learning Exchange event, a collaboration between the Makana Residents’ Association, the Department of Social Development, and the Makhanda Circle of Unity, and the Umthathi Training Project Trust. Phumeza Mtingi and Avule Bika from Umtathi said the event aimed to unite the Makhanda community and encourage them to plant their own food. Cambray talked about the nutritional…
By KEREN BANZA Nineteen years ago in Settlers Hospital, a nurse named a baby girl Musa, meaning peace. Musa Ncwadi has spent her whole life in Makhanda. Now, through the power of education, she is a bridge that unites this divided community. In a classroom at Samuel Ntsiko Primary School, eager eyes slowly scanned the slick cover of a book. Her little hands traced out the title: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. “She taught me how to read using that book,” Ncwadi says of a student teacher from Rhodes University. “The day she left, she gave it to me.” That…
By TERESA WILLOUGHBY 6 pm to 6 am. From 20˚C to 4˚C. These are standard working conditions for Lubabalo Mtunzi more than three times a week. With teeth shining, the security guard laughs as I stand shivering at his post alongside the Nelson Mandela Dining Hall, waiting for him to finish jotting down his hourly observations. After a chuckle directed at me, he tells me I need to understand how to wear warm clothes. He proudly flexes his foot, exposing the long tights he had just added to his uniform. Learning from a previous mistake, he predicted that the provided…
By ZIMKITA LINYANA As Makhandans huddled in the cold and dark under unprecedented waves of Eskom load shedding these past weeks, many residents on the Grahamstown 2 electricity grid grew increasingly dismayed and suspicious when they noticed those connected to the Grahamstown 1 substation were relatively unscathed. Conspiracy theories speculating on the cause of the perceived injustice proliferated on social media. Many insinuated that the inconsistency in load shedding might be due to political influence or backhand deals. “We live in a weird street. Half the street is Grahamstown 1 and the other Grahamstown 2. So we can see exactly…
By TOKOLOGO LEKOMA What does happiness feel like to you? Is it that jolt of bliss you get when you dip your toes in the ocean? Or is it when the morning sun can’t wait to greet you through the curtains? Perhaps it is that moment when everyone laughs so hard that tears stream from person to person. Mam’Margaret Ncgancga, who started Home of Joy, is the exact personification of this sensation. Local Makhanda resident, caregiver and community worker Mam’Ncgancga comes from a line of people who loved helping others in need. Her grandfather and mother, to be specific. Before…
By JULIA KINGHAN Gwen Johnson is not a teacher. She is not a tutor. She is something in between and a little bit more. She is a mentor. Seven years ago, Johnson started a business aimed at helping children with learning disabilities to develop more effective ways to manage their academics. She currently mentors over 28 high school children in Makhanda weekly, encouraging them to cope with their academic challenges and understand that their brains might work differently from other people’s, but not any less brilliantly. Johnson sits comfortably in her open and sunny living room, with its sparkling clean…
By KAMVALETU BOOI A woman of prayer. A woman of ambition. A woman of demanding work and dedication. A daughter. A sister. A colleague and a mother of a 13-year-old daughter. Nosabelo Someketa is a 41-year-old woman who works at the Makhanda Fire Department in the town where she was born and raised. After finishing high school in Makhanda, she studied Basic Ambulance Assistance in Gqeberha. She also did voluntary work and some waitressing jobs. She took courses in fire instructing and fire prevention. After all her years of studying and obtaining her qualifications, on 1 November 2011, she became…