When 11-year-old Lilitha Matshisi was asked to hop onto a kayak earlier in 2023, he found himself shaking with fear. “I have never been that scared in my life. I kept on thinking, what if I drown?” Meanwhile, 14-year-old Akhumzi Ndabeni felt a huge adrenaline rush. He has been swimming in rivers for as long as he can remember and the prospect of trying his hand at kayaking excited him.
For many years, residents in the Nyandeni municipality have had to spend their own money and travel many kilometres on bumpy gravel roads to access municipal offices in town to report or complain about service delivery matters.
Three Port St Johns youths grew up without ever having the opportunity to read a book written in their mother tongue IsiMpondo.Now the three, Mzoli Mavimbela, 33, Bonginkosi Tatemntwini, 27, both from Ngxongweni village, and Sinathi Mpukwana, 29, from Luphaphasi village, have banded together and written a book of short stories in their language.
Twenty people have been arrested in the Eastern Cape for numerous cases of unlawful circumcision during the traditional 2023 winter initiation season.However, no arrests have been made in connection with the deaths of 19 initiates seven more than last year.