Latest news with #Setswana
TimesLIVE
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- TimesLIVE
‘I survived targeted shooting': Tebogo Thobejane launches foundation to fight online abuse and GBV
Actress and entrepreneur Tebogo Thobejane has broken her silence after a harrowing period marked by violence, bullying and personal attacks — announcing the launch of the Botlhale Foundation, an initiative aimed at tackling digital abuse and gender-based violence (GBV). Thobejane, known for her work on screen and in the beauty industry, has taken on a new role: activist and advocate. 'I am a survivor,' she said. 'I survived a targeted shooting — an act meant to silence me. I have survived the brutal weight of online bullying, defamation and relentless character assassination. I've been mocked, humiliated and threatened — not just as a public figure but as a mother, a woman and a human being.' While many might retreat from the spotlight after such trauma, Thobejane says her experience lit a fire in her. 'Through it all I found purpose in my pain.' That purpose now has a name: the Botlhale Foundation, a movement rooted in wisdom, healing and justice. 'Botlhale' means 'wise' in Setswana and Thobejane says the foundation is a safe space for women, children and marginalised voices — especially those who've faced bullying, silencing or abuse, simply for existing or speaking out. The foundation will focus on: combating social media bullying and digital abuse; supporting survivors of GBV and public shaming; advocating for legal reform, mental health resources and digital accountability; and creating safe spaces for dialogue, education and storytelling. 'My story is not unique and that is the tragedy. Many women suffer in silence. I no longer will,' she said. Thobejane called on the public, stakeholders and partners to support the movement and take part in building a more compassionate and just society. 'This is more than a foundation. It is a voice for the unheard, a shield for the vulnerable and a call to action for a country that must do better,' she said.
The Star
29-06-2025
- General
- The Star
Small school sparks big dreams
BANELE Phaladi wolfed down a thin slice of bread and kissed his mother goodbye before walking around the dilapidated streets of Alexandra township to his colourful classroom at the Kgololo Academy. At this elite primary school in one of the most destitute areas of Johannesburg, classes are small, teachers enthusiastic, and every child is known by name – a learning environment miles away from the under-resourced local state school marred with overcrowding and discipline issues. Jumping between potholes and puddles, 12-year-old Phaladi passed the gates at dawn, welcomed with a cheerful greeting of hugs and high-fives from school staff and his classmates. The daily greeting 'allows us to make sure everyone is seen, who's in a good or bad mood but also who has been injured, sick, or has a bruise,' explained Waahida Tolbert-Mbatha, the 45-year-old American founder of the Kgololo Academy – meaning 'to set free' in local Setswana language. With only 173 learners – an average of 25 per class – the independent school says it aims to provide children with 'a world-class education, within their community'. 'In the public school next door where classes have more than 50 pupils, the teachers have to focus on the few more advanced kids,' said maths teacher Portia Mamba, 32. 'Here we are able to focus on the ones who are struggling. Any child can learn when given the right platform,' she said. Tolbert-Mbatha co-founded the school 10 years ago with her husband Thulani Mbatha, a native of the poverty-stricken township which borders the affluent neighbourhood of Sandton, known as Africa's richest square mile. When Mbatha was a child, a visiting American teacher spotted him writing his homework in an abandoned bus. The teacher tutored him and his friends and eventually funded their university education. 'This completely changed the trajectory for him – but it is problematic that all the people who made it were 'discovered' because they happened to be at the right place at the right time,' said Tolbert-Mbatha, who has a background in teaching. 'We wanted to create an environment where everyone gets discovered,' she said. Quality education at home To achieve academic success, Alexandra's best pupils usually rely on scholarships to private schools in more affluent areas. South Africa's ongoing legacy of racial segregation, even 30 years after the end of apartheid, means the children often stand out in rich, white-majority schools. Kgololo Academy aims to give them – at least at primary school level – access to 'high quality education that doesn't focus on academics only' without having to leave their community, says the school's principal, Nelly Mhlongo. 'It brings a new, fresh air in our community to have a private school in a township,' agrees Phaladi's mother, Eva, who raises her son as a single mother in a house shared with his uncle, aunt and cousins. The fees of about 30,000 rands (RM6,962) per year, a fortune in one of the country's poorest neighbourhoods, are covered more than halfway by NGOs and private donors. Parents and grandparents scrape pennies together to afford the rest. To support the children, who face a myriad of challenges in a community plagued with unemployment and crime, the school has hired two psychologists and a social worker. 'It has been a game-changer' and many pupils now see the counsellors even for everyday issues, said Tolbert-Mbatha, whose own children are also enrolled at the academy. Unlike other prestigious private schools, the key to admission at Kgololo Academy isn't the child's academic prowess, but rather the parents' involvement. 'We can take any student, we cannot take any parent,' the founder said. 'They must create habits to help their kids be successful.' Before heading to their first-period isiZulu lesson, Banele Phaladi and his classmates warmed up with a lively game of musical chairs in the courtyard. The teachers here know how to make learning 'interesting and fun', the good-natured pre-teen said. Next year, Phaladi's commute to school will be very different: like 90% of Kgololo's learners, he has just been awarded a fully-funded ride to a prestigious high school. — AFP
The Citizen
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
Chef showcases passion on a plate
From slicing vegetables at his grandmother's side to working in professional kitchens across the US, Siyabulela Khuse has built a culinary journey defined by passion, perseverance, and creativity. • Also read: Fashion takes centre stage in Rand West Known by childhood friends as Dijo – the Setswana word for 'food' – Khuse discovered his love for cooking early on. 'I ended up adopting my grandmother's cooking techniques,' he recalled. After matriculating, he trained at the HTA School of Culinary Arts in Randburg and went on to work in various esteemed kitchens, including stints in North Carolina and Florida. In 2017 and again in 2019, he sharpened his skills abroad, learning from top chefs and refining his own approach. Everybody can cook, but not everyone can be a chef,' he said. 'I've given it my all.' Today, Khuse runs his own business, MacZino's, where he combines Swiss, Italian, and French influences with traditional African dishes. 'I'm always trying to strike a balance between new and classic flavours.' Despite the challenges of the profession – long hours, pressure, and high standards – he's determined to grow. He hopes to return to the US to deepen his skills and later open a restaurant in his hometown, mentoring young chefs. 'Stay humble and never give up,' he advises. 'You need heart, strength, and a great mentor.' Khuse will showcase his culinary art at the Rand West Fashion Festival until June 28, adding flavour to fashion with his unique dishes.
IOL News
24-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- IOL News
Global unity celebrated at Maropeng on International Yoga Day
IN a powerful fusion of ancient tradition and human heritage, thousands gathered at the Cradle of Humankind last Saturday to mark the 11th International Day of Yoga. Image: Supplied IN a powerful fusion of ancient tradition and human heritage, thousands gathered at the Cradle of Humankind last Saturday to mark the 11th International Day of Yoga (IDY) under the theme 'Yoga for One Earth, One Health'. The event, hosted by the Consulate General of India in Johannesburg, took place at Maropeng, the UNESCO World Heritage Site that holds the fossils of humanity's earliest ancestors — a symbolic backdrop for a practice that bridges millennia. This year's theme underscored the urgent connection between personal well-being and planetary health, echoing the site's message of shared human ancestry. 'Yoga is not just exercise — it's a discipline that unites mind, body, and environment,' said a Consulate spokesperson. 'Where better to celebrate this than at the birthplace of humanity itself?' Maropeng, meaning 'returning to the place of origin' in Setswana, is home to fossils dating back millions of years. By hosting the event here, organisers aim to merge India's 5 000-year-old yogic tradition with Africa's narrative of human evolution — a bold statement on unity in a fractured world. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading The mass yoga session, led by expert instructors, will be open to all, regardless of age or experience. But the day goes beyond physical postures. 'This is about reconnecting with ourselves, each other, and the Earth,' said one organiser. Amid rising global tensions and environmental crises, the event pushes yoga as a tool for inner peace, social cohesion, and ecological consciousness. The choice of Maropeng is no coincidence. As climate disasters escalate and conflicts divide nations, the IDY celebration positions yoga as an antidote to modern fragmentation. 'We're all from the same origin,' said a local participant. 'Yoga reminds us of that bond.' The Consulate has called on community groups, wellness advocates, and the public to take part in what promises to be a historic gathering. As the sun rises over the Cradle of Humankind, attendees will stretch, breathe, and meditate — not just as individuals, but as part of a collective journey toward healing, balance, and a healthier planet.
Daily Maverick
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Lessons from champions — turning young rural KZN pupils into literacy superstars
South Africa's child literacy figures are shocking. In the first of a three-part series on our reading crisis, Anna Cox and Cecilia Russell went in search of civil society organisations tackling the issue with the 'each one teach one' tenet. The little girl placed her hand on her hip and sashayed towards the teacher like a supermodel on a runway. The Grade R pupil from a farm school – Goxhill Primary School – in Underberg, KwaZulu-Natal, is, with the help of a civil society initiative, bucking the trend of 80% of Grade 3s not being able to read for meaning in any language. The child was responding to a short, fun-filled lesson by a teaching assistant or, as she is known at the school, a literacy champion, Mpumelelo (Nompies) Mbokazi, in which she needed to identify sight words – in this case, a prominent discount retail store, PEP, which she associates with the excitement of new clothes. The project, run by the Family Literacy Project (FLP), is one of the nonprofit organisations we visited in search of civil society projects that are both academically successful and replicable. This sector includes high-functioning organisations that can access government tenders and draw funding from local and international corporates and philanthropic organisations, as well as struggling, well-meaning individuals dependent on the generosity of small contributions from donors. With only five years to go to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4, specifically target 4.6, which aims to ensure that all young people and a substantial proportion of adult men and women achieve literacy and numeracy, there is much to be done. 'Urgency of the moment' Although the literacy statistics are alarming, there is some optimism that with the right programmes, this can be addressed. Speakers at a think-tank held by the Reading Panel in Johannesburg earlier this year emphasised the 'urgency of the moment'. The panel of eminent South Africans, which was convened by former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, aims to ensure that all children can read for meaning by age 10 by 2030. There was a strong emphasis on teacher support and training, especially for mother-tongue education, since research has shown that a child who becomes proficient in their home language is more likely to manage learning a second language, such as English first additional language. Another theme was the need to see the education budget increased in real terms. These interventions are needed to address stark disparities in schools in which pupils taught in African languages such as Setswana, Tshivenda and Sepedi are at a significant disadvantage, as are children from rural areas – all provinces except for Gauteng and the Western Cape are performing below the mean. However, the panel also noted that small interventions can have big impacts, citing the Western Cape's Back on Track project, through which it took just nine intervention lessons for isiXhosa and Afrikaans schools to achieve a year's worth of progress. Back in Goxhill Primary, the same little girl joined her classmates in slowly and carefully making the letter O in a cardboard box filled with sand. They proudly chat among themselves and vie for Mbokazi's attention as they do so. The lesson is tactile and fun, made from easily available resources and oriented towards the children's lived experience – the sight words include shops in the nearest centre, the Spar and PEP – and it is taught in isiZulu, the children's home language, adapted from the Reach Out to Read method developed by Cheryl Taylor. The literacy champions at this farm school, which is in the Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma Local Municipality, provide crucial support to the teachers. The champions are trained over two years in teaching isiZulu reading skills to Grade R and grades 1 to 3, although the project has a more ambitious role in supporting families in the community with skills too. However, the project is fragile following Covid; it was unable to retain many of the literacy champions it had trained during the pandemic because of a loss of funding. FLP director Pierre Horn says his role is to constantly seek funding, and he wryly comments that he hopes this project will still be active next year. The costs are modest, and champions and facilitators are paid a stipend. According to Horn, the cost per school, based on a per-grade training with small groups of 10 to 12 at a time, is about R8,000 to R12,000 per grade. Each class is provided with a small classroom library with books in isiZulu and a few in English. The project is now active in 15 communities, mostly in KwaZulu-Natal's Ubuhlebezwe, Impendle and Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma rural municipalities. Apart from the literacy champions who work in schools, there is a group of all-women community facilitators, chosen by their peers, who provide counselling and support to other women in the community. Supporting the gogos Two community facilitators, Nomvula Phoswa and Faith Khumalo, confirmed that despite a lack of funding for the adult work, they were continuing their roles with the family groups in the community. Both dressed in T-shirts emblazoned with Pepfar, the Aids funding programme recently halted by one of US President Donald Trump's now (in)famous executive orders, they are firmly committed to changing their communities' circumstances – no matter the odds. Phoswa is quietly spoken but displays steely determination. She comes from Bulwer, where she started a 'child-to-child' reading club for children after school. The programme expanded to include young girls and adult groups, addressing issues such as behaviour, health and home life. 'I support the grandmothers who take care of the children,' she says of her adult group of 20, alluding to a South African phenomenon where socioeconomic pressures, unemployment, urban migration and poverty push families to consolidate resources by living together, along with 'deeply rooted cultural values [that] continue to uphold the importance of extended family networks'. Phoswa is passionate about her Grade R and Grade 1 children's literacy sessions, in which she uses the FLP kit with letter sounds and flash cards. She has reached hundreds of children and parents, and her methods have been adopted by teachers. Phoswa faces challenges such as lack of space for adult groups and limited resources for reaching more children. Creating the odds to favour the kids The success of continued education in the region is up against many odds. Grade R teacher Nonzamo Makhaye says she starts the day by preparing a meal for the children, because many haven't eaten. This is in addition to the regular school meal provided. The unemployment rate in the region is 62.52%, with youth unemployment even higher at more than 70%. The children won't come to school for a whole month if there are many public holidays, for instance in December and over Easter, because the parents can't pay a taxi driver the full monthly fee of R300. As we drive through an area known as the Underberg Low-Cost Housing Area, a young boy, clutching a football, and two others confirm that is the reason they are at home. 'The school year effectively ends at the end of November. This isn't good, as studies have shown that the number of school days attended has a positive impact on the children's education,' says Taylor. The literacy champions live in the community and, where they can, follow their pupils' progress. Nkosikhona Msiya, a young champion who is still studying towards a degree, says some of the children he has taught are now at university and others already have their degrees. He looks concerned. 'And I am still stuck [studying].' DM This feature was produced with the support of the Henry Nxumalo Foundation. From gardener to literacy champion: an unlikely path to success Nkosikhona Msiya gesticulates to the children assembled in the schoolyard on a cool autumn morning. The pupils follow with rapt attention, completely oblivious to their surroundings at Goxhill Primary in the foothills of the Drakensberg in Underberg. The children have brought their mobile desks with reading cards and sound cards out into the fresh air. Beyond the school fence, the Drakensberg can be seen through a blue haze in the distance. Tourists often come to the region to drive up the famous Sani Pass with its hairpin bends and spectacular views. Few will notice the tiny farm schools, like Goxhill, with its drab brick exterior. Should they visit, they will find a school filled with enthusiastic children in classrooms with floors scrubbed clean and walls transformed by artwork and posters. Msiya got into teaching by accident. After completing matric he went on to study, but it didn't work out, so his grandfather found a job for him as a gardener at an orphanage in Underberg. He started working there in 2014, but in the afternoons he would spend time with the children, helping them with their homework. His talent didn't go unnoticed. 'I think you are meant to work with children,' an administrator at the orphanage told him, and introduced him to Pierre Horn, the Family Literacy Project (FLP) director. Soon he was being trained to become a literacy champion, and even worked full-time as a teacher at one stage, even though he was not qualified. During the Covid-19 pandemic the literacy champions played a crucial role. The FLP set up WhatsApp groups and the literacy champions worked with children in the community when schools were closed, using the Reach Out to Read method. Now Msiya's days are busy; in the mornings he works as a teacher, in the afternoons he coaches soccer, and he is completing his bachelor of education degree through the University of South Africa. 'Being part of this project has helped me… as I've gained a lot of skills, like how to teach and how to deal with children who have… challenges,' says Msiya. He recognises now that he should have started years ago, when he was still at school and often took over the class when the teachers weren't there. 'I should have realised that I've got this thing,' he says of his talent for teaching. After all, his classmates always told him he was good at it. DM
