Kaizer Chiefs transfer news: Velebayi and Mdantsane
The reimagining of a century-old landmark home materializes 12 months into project
Jim Slonoff The 1928 Cotswald-esque cottage seems transplanted from a bucolic English hamlet with lots of old-world touches like these beams and leaded glass windows in the living room. Collins kept these features while brightening the walls and bringing contemporary furniture to make the space more inviting. The kitchen at 4 E. Fifth St. received a major glow-up from Mimi Collins and her design team. The dated cabinetry and countertops (above) were upgraded (left), and closing off a door to the adjacent powder room allowed a reconfiguration of the floor plan. (Jim Slonoff photos)
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Daily Maverick
2 days ago
- Daily Maverick
Single mom and Cape Town activist Yumna Alexander gives adults a second chance through night schools
'People are really serious about changing their lives and the lives of their children. It all starts with you, and it is so beautiful to watch people because nobody is going to do it for them but themselves,' says single mom and community activist Yumna Alexander, who runs 10 Hopeful Leaders Night Schools in Cape Town, helping school dropouts get their matric. Having dropped out of school herself, Yumna Alexander understands first-hand the challenges faced by those who leave school early. She left school after falling pregnant and struggled for years to find stable employment. With limited qualifications, she took retail and call centre jobs to support her child. Determined to change her path, she decided in her mid-20s to return to school and pursue her matric, holding on to her long-standing dream of becoming a teacher. After completing her matric, she began volunteering at the age of 32 at a leadership college in Manenberg. Without internet access at home, she used the Manenberg library as her study space. While there, she began helping others with basic computer use, but soon realised there were deeper issues. 'I realised through the training that in every five people, only one person had matric. They used to tell me that they want to complete school, but do not know how to. I approached ward councillors to help open a programme, but I was told I would never succeed,' said Alexander. That discouragement didn't stop her. Today, she runs 10 night schools across coloured communities in Cape Town, including Manenberg, Mitchells Plain, Delft, Bishop Lavis, Hanover Park, Lavender Hill, Bonteheuwel, Elsies River and Ravensmead. More than 600 learners are currently enrolled, and Alexander has employed more than 20 teachers, many of whom earned their matric through her programme. Learners pay R15 a class and a once-off registration fee of R50. Every cent earned goes directly back into the programme – paying staff and covering the cost of essentials such as copy paper and ink. 'We are getting no support from the government; we are doing this on our own, and it's okay… We operate from 6pm every Monday to Thursday. We have subjects that include maths literacy, English home language, Afrikaans additional, mathematics, geography, history, life sciences, business studies and religious studies,' said Alexander. Matriculants' testimonies Natalie Muller (36) said she joined the Hanover night school at the age of 34 after failing matric. She says her experience at the school was incredible, and working with Alexander was inspiring. 'I found her [Alexander] on Facebook calling people to come register, and I did. It was easy studying with old people because they were mature and focused. We did a lot of revision and wrote exams. Yumna always told us to study further, and I did, in finance; today, I am helping with finances at the schools. Everyone has a chance in life, and it is never too late,' said Muller. Another matriculant, Waeeda Abrahams, dropped out of high school in Grade 11 and had three children. In 2020, she overheard people speaking about the night school and learnt Alexander's name. 'I heard Yumna was working at the library, and I went to her because I needed to make something of myself. I then attended the night school… I managed to pass with a bachelor's pass. I struggled to get into university, but I got into Two Oceans Graduate Institute [in Cape Town], and I completed two years with the school. I started working at night for Yumna as an administrator. I went to Unisa [through] a bursary,' said Abrahams. She said she is now an administrator at one of the night schools and wants to help others find success. 'She [Alexander] can be very strict, but she will work with you side by side. She also asks us for advice and is not a boss type, just an open person,' said Abrahams. According to previous reporting by Daily Maverick, around 40% of South African learners who begin Grade 1 do not reach matric. This staggering dropout rate is fuelled by a mix of factors such as financial hardship, lack of resources, limited support at home and social pressures such as early pregnancy. Alexander said her dream of becoming a teacher had seen her open doors to employment by helping people who had not matriculated. DM For anyone wanting to assist, these are the details for her Hopeful Leaders Night School. Account Name: Hopeful Leaders Institute Bank Account: Nedbank Account Number: 1266769854 Branch code: 198765 Swift Code: NEDSZAJJ.
The South African
3 days ago
- The South African
Kaizer Chiefs transfer news: Velebayi and Mdantsane
The reimagining of a century-old landmark home materializes 12 months into project Jim Slonoff The 1928 Cotswald-esque cottage seems transplanted from a bucolic English hamlet with lots of old-world touches like these beams and leaded glass windows in the living room. Collins kept these features while brightening the walls and bringing contemporary furniture to make the space more inviting. The kitchen at 4 E. Fifth St. received a major glow-up from Mimi Collins and her design team. The dated cabinetry and countertops (above) were upgraded (left), and closing off a door to the adjacent powder room allowed a reconfiguration of the floor plan. (Jim Slonoff photos)
eNCA
3 days ago
- eNCA
Kenya's Ngugi wa Thiong'o, champion of African expression
NAIROBI - During his imprisonment, Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong'o decided he would never write in English again, a defiant move that helped put literature in African languages firmly on the map. Ngugi died at the age of 87 on Wednesday, his daughter announced on Facebook. "It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our dad, Ngugi wa Thiong'o this Wednesday morning," wrote Wanjiku Wa Ngugi. "He lived a full life, fought a good fight." Widely regarded as east Africa's most influential writer, Ngugi sought to forge a body of literature reflecting the land and people from which he came, and not follow in the footsteps of Western tradition. "I believe so much in equality of languages. I am completely horrified by the hierarchy of languages," he told AFP in an interview in 2022 from California, where he lived in self-imposed exile. His decision in the 1970s to abandon English in favour of his native Kikuyu, as well as Kenya's national language Swahili, was met with widespread incomprehension at first. "We all thought he was mad... and brave at the same time," said Kenyan writer David Maillu. "We asked ourselves who would buy the books." Yet the bold choice built his reputation and turned him into an African literary landmark. The softly-spoken writer also lived a life as dramatic as his novels. His criticism of post-colonial Kenya -- describing the violence of the political class and the newly rich as "the death of hopes, the death of dreams and the death of beauty" -- brought him into frequent conflict with the authorities. - 'Decolonising the mind' - Born James Ngugi into a large peasant family in Kenya's central Limuru region on January 5, 1938, he spent the first 25 years of his life in what was then a British settler colony. His early works were heavily influenced by his country's battle against colonial rule and the brutal Mau Mau war of 1952-1960. In his first collection of essays, "Homecoming", he described himself as a "stranger in his home country". But his anger would later extend to the inequalities of post-colonial Kenyan society, incurring the wrath of the government. In 1977, Ngugi and fellow writer Ngugi wa Mirii were jailed without charge after the staging of their play "Ngaahika Ndeenda" ("I Will Marry When I Want"). It was then that he decided to write his first novel in Kikuyu, "Devil on the Cross", which was published in 1980. AFP | Tony KARUMBA He had already abandoned his "English" name to become Ngugi wa Thiong'o. "I wrote it on the only paper available to me, which was toilet paper," he told US radio broadcaster NPR. Amnesty International named him a prisoner of conscience, before a global campaign secured his release from Kamiti Maximum Security Prison in December 1978. As early as 1965, Ngugi's novel "The River Between" embarked on a critical examination of the role of Christianity in an African setting. "If the white man's religion made you abandon a custom and then did not give you something else of equal value, you became lost," he wrote. He went into self-imposed exile in 1982 after a ban on theatre groups in Kenya, moving first to Britain then to the United States. In 1986, he published one of his best-known works, "Decolonising the Mind", a collection of essays about the role of language in forging national culture, history and identity. - 'A Kenyan Tolstoy' - When Ngugi returned home on a visit in 2004, he was mobbed by supporters at Nairobi's airport. "I have come back with an open mind, an open heart and open arms," he declared. Days later, he and his wife were attacked by armed men: she was raped and he was beaten up. It was not clear whether robbery was the sole motive or whether the assault was politically motivated. Margaretta wa Gacheru, a sociologist and former student of Ngugi, described him as a national icon. "To me he's like a Kenyan Tolstoy, in the sense of being a storyteller, in the sense of his love of the language and panoramic view of society, his description of the landscape of social relations, of class and class struggles," she said. In addition to fiction, the father-of-three, who became a professor of comparative literature at the University of California Irvine, also published essays and three memoirs. His most recent book was the genre-defying novel-in-verse "The Perfect Nine", which he translated into English in 2020. It recounted the founding of the Kikuyu people, blending folklore and allegory. From widening economic inequality to the lingering trauma of racism, the issues raised in the play still persist in Kenya and beyond, a fact not lost on its creator. "I am an activist, I want to see change," Ngugi told AFP. "I hope we can continue striving for that world. We cannot give up."
