Netwerk24 • 18th July 2017

Valashiya happy she can ‘stand’ on her feet again

Valashiya happy she can ‘stand’ on her feet again Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease or “wear and tear” arthritis, is the most common chronic condition of the joints. It occurs when the cartilage or cushion between joints breaks down leading to pain, stiffness and swelling and is commonly seen as a disease of the elderly, however this is not true and even babies can be born with it. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) it is normally associated with ageing an

Netwerk24 • 4th July 2017

Principal bids farewell after three decades

PJB Cona Primary School principal, Nontuthuzelo Matross has retired. She served the school since beginning her teaching at PJB in 1984. She became the school’s deputy principal in 1997 and principal in January 2007. Over these three decades the 60-year-old has observed much change, change that is not without its own challenges, one being the present learner-centred legal regime that has seen - for instance - erosion of respect for the educator and that of good cooperation between parent and

Netwerk24 • 30th May 2017

Zwelethemba hosts economic summit

On Wednesday 17 May, Government Communications and Information System (GCIS) hosted an Economic Development Summit in Zwelethemba, Worcester. This was to ensure community members of the Breede Valley, and in particular the Zwelethemba community, receive relevant information on economic opportunities that exist. The summit also focused on providing unemployed youth with information for starting their own businesses. “We are here to develop the most vital organ, the minds of the young X vukuzenz

Netwerk24 • 26th March 2018

Game Changers help learners improve

A team of four tutors at Alfred Stamper Primary School in Zwelethemba has proved that all a child really needs is guidance. Children always try to bring out the best in themselves, even if it is just by solving a sum in mathematics or reading aloud. As a rule, they appreciate whatever comes their way, even if they sometimes have to adapt to change. So says Nompumelelo Maphingana, tutor team leader of the after-school programme Game Changers. “We are game changers,” she said about the work the

Netwerk24 • 3rd July 2017

Lingelihle Sewing Centre in tatters

“The Lingelihle Sewing Centre is at junk status,” says Xoliswa Zwide, project coordinator of the centre. At present, ceilings are leaking, doors have no latches and windows are broken because there is no proper security at the centre. Nelson Mandela initiated the centre through a grant, with the aim of developing human resources within the arts and culture industry. The idea was to improve lives by providing work experience. “The centre’s main purpose was to create development projects that co

Netwerk24 • 19th June 2017

Pink Divas give to community

The Pink Divas Foundation, a non-profit organisation in Zwelethemba, started last year when Yolanda Mahlekela had the idea of rebuilding self-worth and value in young girls through beauty pageants. “Growing up I participated in pageants. I looked around and assessed other ladies who grew up also doing pageants and discovered that there is a certain way in which we conduct ourselves. The pride, the self-awareness and the confidence. Something which I feel has been lost somewhere somehow with our

Netwerk24 • 15th August 2017

‘The future is now’

Local drama group Our Hope recently hosted a poetry and drama event in Zwelethemba, with the theme “The future is now!” The performance line-up included artists from Cape Town, Robertson and Mbekweni, accommodated by Our Hope group members. The Department of Comedy Affairs, a group of comedians and magicians, enlightened the room with their comedy and treated the audience to tummy aching laughter. Our Hope, no stranger to the performing arts scene, has performed across the Western Cape at art

Netwerk24 • 30th May 2017

Youngsters dream of their own acrobat school

Acrobats are known for their acrobatic flair, rope walking and flying without wings in the circus, a skill that takes hours of practice and years of training to perfect. But for Inathi Zungula from Zwelethemba it came somewhat naturally. The 16 year old amateur contortionist from the Zip Zap Circus School in Cape Town learned the art by watching videos. “At the beginning my partner and I watched videos and copied the tricks. We practised almost daily and came up with our own contortion shapes

Netwerk24 • 15th August 2017

Top chef hails from Zwelethemba

Luxolo Tabata, a Resort Chef Double Tree at the Hilton on the Indian Ocean islands of the Seychelles, was born and bred in Zwelethemba. His lower grades were completed at Alfred Stamper Primary before proceeding to Worcester Gymnasium, from which he was expelled for bad behaviour in Grade 10. But, it is said naughty boys are merely bright boys with dissipated energies, and these were finally harnessed through dedication, ambition and hard work, without which he couldn’t have achieved what he h

Netwerk24 • 1st August 2017

Anti-apartheid stalwart dies

The community of Zwelethemba, Worcester mourns the loss of Nonkosazana Elizabeth Bushwana, an icon of this community. The human rights and anti-apartheid stalwart died on 10 July after a long illness. Bushwana, a stylish mother of three, served the African National Congress long before many could even utter the word freedom, showing a loyalty that went to the recesses of her very core. She was an ANC councillor in Zwelethemba from 1997 until 2011. “She fought for this community and people lo

Netwerk24 • 17th July 2017

Minister: Consider ‘being a spy’

Deputy Minister of State Security, Ellen Molekane, visited Worcester on 30 June to exchange ideas and listen to the needs of the youth in the Breede Valley. Students from Boland College – Worcester, Vusisizwe and unemployed youth from Worcester joined the discussions at the Protea Cumberland Hotel. Molekane expressed her gratitude to see a variety of cultures and said she was glad because “variety is the spice of life”. Molekane inspired the youth and said “they are the strength of the nati

Netwerk24 • 20th June 2017

B-man a ‘living testimony’

Bongo Pikelela (25), known to his friends as “B-man”, was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease at the tender age of nine. This is a genetic disorder characterised by the growth of numerous cysts on the kidneys caused by incompatible genetic flows. Pikelela, however, inherited this disorder from his paternal grandparents, and was often sick. His first kidney was removed in 2005 and he lived with just one for six years. The second kidney was removed after he returned from Initiation School

Netwerk24 • 30th May 2017

Africa Month celebrated through arts

On Saturday 13 May, Ichiza Lomdiza Art Production founder Sphiwo Mlanjana, from Zwlethemba, hosted an event entitled Vuka Afrika (Wake up, Africa) at Zwelethemba Dutch Hall. The purpose was to draw attention to the fallen heroes of Africa X icons such as Steve Biko, Nelson Mandela and even those who died in the Marikana Massacre. “As we can all see, Africa is dying a slow, painful death,” said Mlanjana. “We are even going as far as killing one another. I hosted the event to remind people how h

Netwerk24 • 20th June 2017

Three-year-old killed on road

A three-year-old boy died after being hit by a car on Robertson Road around 09:35 on Friday 2 June. On the day, Katlego Letsile left home in the early hours to play with goats, a happy child who loved playing with animals. “I let him out because he tricked me by saying he needed the bathroom,” said the boy’s traumatised aunt, whom he lived with as his parents worked in Citrusdal. The toddler accompanied the woman who owned the goats to Robertson Road, where she allegedly left him standing on

Netwerk24 • 15th August 2017

Annual career expo helps learners with career choices

The Zwelethemba Youth Development Club (ZYDC) hosted its annual career expo at Vusisizwe High school hall with the purpose of educating young people in making the right career choices. The career expo held was on 29 July and was packed with hundreds of learners from different schools like Vusisizwe High, in Zwelethamba, Van Cutsem Combined School, in De Doorns and Masakhekhe Combined School in Robertson. With presentation from six different institutions and government departments the learners

Netwerk24 • 26th June 2017

Vukuhambe day care centre gets new set of wheels

The Vukuhambe day care centre for the multi disabled recently received a new vehicle courtesy of the National Lottery. “The new vehicle will come in handy especially when we have meetings in Cape Town and still have to transport the kids to and from the centre,” said the happy manager of the centre, Linda Ntantiso. The centre was established in 1986 by Ntantiso’s late mother, Eileen Myada, who did not have a disability, nor any disabled in her family; however through passion for the disabled s

Netwerk24 • 1st August 2017

Phalo’s family start a heart foundation

The family of Phalo Gayiya has decided to start the Phalo Gayiya Heart Foundation, a voluntary organisation. It has been exactly a year since Phalo, who suffered from a rare heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy, received the gift of life through a heart transplant. Phalo is a strong gallant boy with a smile that assures you everything will be fine, no matter the circumstances. Aside from a sudden visit to hospital, which scared his parents recently, the eight-year-old has been doing