Veteran gospel musicians Kholekile Qongqo, left and Sithembiso Soboyisi entertain the crowd in Langa.
Two musicians who have been starved of an income due to the lockdown
restrictions which prevented gatherings and live performances shared
with Vukani what it has been like to finally perform in front of a live
audience.
On Saturday, Kholekile Qongqo and Reverend Sithembiso Soboyisi launched their new album, Thembalimbi, at Phandulwazi Hall in Langa.
“It has been difficult for all the artists country-wide. We were forced to sit at home with nothing to show.
The province has not even given us the relief funding. We only heard
about it in the newspapers and (on the) radio. But we are grateful to
have a chance to perform in front of an audience.
“This is something to be proud of. We only hope that as time goes, things will be different,” said Sithembiso.
Sithembiso and Kholekile took full advantage of the day to perform
their best songs, among them duets, for their enthusiastic crowd.
“This is the first show since March. We have never seen our fans for
such a long time. We missed the stage and performances like this. As
gospel artists we ought to give hope to the masses and it is now that
time that we should do that. The only hope we have now is that the virus
can go away so we can have big shows and concerts.
But we are happy with the little chance we have to perform for them, give them hope through the song,” Kholekile told Vukani.
The two applauded their audience for adhering to lockdown protocols
to prevent the spread of Covid-19. They said it was good to see people
sanitising their hands and wearing masks.
“This is not the time to break the rules but encourage our people to live a clean life,” said Kholekile.
“As gospel artists, we have a responsibility to not only spread the
word of God but to make people aware of their surroundings and dangers.
We are all aware that there is word of a second wave, so we want people
to be vigilant at all times.”
kulula.com plants 1 250 trees in Western Cape in celebration of Youth Day
Publicity 100
Photo By News24
kulula
fans raised an amazing R1-million to support Food & Trees for
Africa (FTFA) efforts to respond to climate change and improve
environments, especially for the poor. This was achieved through
kulula’s Project Green Programme, which aims to combat the atmospheric
carbon loads and greenhouse gases released by their aircraft.
Thanks
to these fans, 3 000 trees are already in the ground and doing their
thing to bring the birds and the bees back to the communities of Tembisa
and Mt Moriah.
“We applaud all our fans who opened their hearts
and pockets to show support for climate change action through South
Africa’s foremost greening organisation” says kulula marketing manager,
Nadine Damen.
To celebrate Youth Day, on and around 16 June,
kulula will now plant a further 1 250 trees in Langa, Eerste River and
Mitchells Plain. Youth Day represents a turning point for South Africa
and it is hoped that the trees will bring positive change to these
communities too.
250 trees will be distributed to the deserving
communities of Eerste River on 16 June at 15:00 and in Tafelsig,
Mitchells Plain, on 18 June at 09h00.
333 residents will also
receive trees to plant at their homes from Langa Community Hall on Youth
Day morning with a further 333 trees handed over to community members
at 12:30 at the Phandulwazi Centre, Zone 16.
A week later FTFA will plant a further 334 trees with more Langa residents.
“These
areas are desperately in need of trees and green education to improve
the surroundings, as well as to absorb carbon dioxide, one of the major
greenhouse gases,” said Mark Isaacs, an FTFA consultant in the Western
Cape. “We have been working with these communities for the last couple
of weeks to ensure that the trees are planted correctly and taken care
of properly and the community members are very excited to be receiving
these precious trees on this important day of remembrance in South
Africa.”
kulula is also the supporter of the ground breaking new
mobi site, mytrees.mobi, which allows South Africans to measure their
carbon footprint and plant trees using their mobile phones, participate
in a GreenIQ, learn about the environment and much more. Simply sms
trees to 34747. Another kulula and FTFA first!
For more
information or to attend any of the Youth Day tree distribution and
planting events, for interviews, photographs or to attend the event,
contact joanne@trees.org.za, or call Joanne at (011) 656 9802 and see http://mytrees.mobi/ to find out how you can help.
CAPE TOWN: LANGA will be the place to be for this
years Red Tigers Juniors & Seniors Youth Day Tournament on
Thursday, June 16, 2022.
JUNE 16 is commemorated as Youth Day in South Africa, after the 1976
Soweto Uprising, which quickly spread to other parts of the country.
The Soweto uprising was a series of demonstrations and protests led
by black school children in South Africa that began on the morning of
June 16, 1976.
Students from numerous Sowetan schools in Johannesburg began to
protest in the streets of Soweto in response to the introduction of
Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in local schools. It is estimated
that 20,000 students took part in the protests.
They were met with fierce police brutality and many were shot and
killed. The number of people killed in the uprising is usually given as
176, but estimates of up to 700 have been made. Dozens of other students
were injured.
In remembrance of these events, since the first democratic elections
in 1994, June 16 is now a public holiday in South Africa, named Youth
Day.
But this week’s June 16 events in Langa, Cape Town will see a basketball extravaganza at the Khulani High School.
Organisers have revealed that U13: joining fee is R200.
Prizes: Group A: R1500; Group B: R1500; Group C: R1500; Group D: R1500.
Also revealed is the Point System Rule.
For Seniors, a team with highest points in each group goes with a R1500 as their 1st prize.
The won’t be knockouts or semi finals.
If teams are equal on points, then goal difference will come into
effect, in other words if a team has scored more goals on that group
then they will go with the 1st prize.
Kickoff time is at 9am, with registration at 8:30am and the gate fee stands at R5.
CAPE TOWN: More than 1600 runners from Athletic Cubs
across the Cape Town and surrounds, traffic cops, SAPS, patrol safety,
media, sponsors, residents lining the streets and cheering runners on
and much more will form part of the festivities in the first ever
‘Retail Capital Langa Run for Freedom’.
Hosted by the Langa Athletics Club, the event will kick off at the
Langa Sports Stadium in Bitterhout Avenue at 7.15am, on Wednesday, April
27.
In South Africa this day is known as Freedom Day, after the first
democratic elections took place in the country on April 27 in 1994.
The running route will pass some of the township’s landmarks, such as
late South African Pop Queen Brenda Fassie’s home on Makana Circle.
Langa is the oldest surburb in Cape Town established in the 1920s and
community has produced many internationally acclaimed sports athletes,
artists and other professionals.
The Langa Athletics Club was establieshed in 2015 with the aim to
support and encourage participation in youth development programmes.
The club focuses on athletics and promoting and encouraging a healthy lifestyle in Langa and surrounding areas.
Aubrey Isaacs, Race organiser and chairperson of the Langa Athletics
Club, said the race was going to be a one of a kind experience.
“The idea behind this event is to bring together runners from across
the city in the spirit of peace and togetherness, to celebrate Freedom
Day and all that it represents,” he said.
Isaacs added: “We encourage runners to bring along friends and
families to support them and to soak up the township vibe on the day. We
know that, for many, this will be their first township experience and
we hope it will be the first of many.”
Isaacs, who was instrumental in establishing the Langa Athletics Club, said the event was a dream come true.
“We started the club with 20 members, and over the years we have
grown it to 350 members, some of whom reside in Langa and others in
nearby suburbs like Bonteheuwel and Hanover Park.”
The race is open to runners of all fitness levels and includes a 10km run for participating clubs and professional athletes.
In addition, there will be a 6km option for non-professional runners
who want to test their fitness and soak up the township experience.
Isaacs believes the timing is right to launch the Run for Freedom.
“Many people don’t know that sport and fitness are big in this
township. We have open-air gyms popping up everywhere recently,” noted
Isaacs.
Isaacs further remarked: “From an administration and organisational perspective, the club is ready.
“We are working closely with the traffic department and have roped in
our local community policing forum to safeguard the route. We intend to
establish it as Langa’s flagship running event.”
Entrants can register to participate on https://entryninja.co.za until Monday or at the venue on race day from 5am to 7am.
Entry fees range from R50 to R120 for the 10km run and from R20 to R30 for the 6km run.
The proceeds from the event will be invested back into the athletics club.
So if you are not yet sure of a way to spend the Freedom Day public
holiday, then you should be making your way to Langa and be part of
making history.
CAPE TOWN: iKhaya Le Langa uses people, planet,
profit (PPP) principles and sustainable business tourism to regenerate
the region.
As a host city to YPO EDGE, Cape Town, South Africa, was the
recipient of much of this generosity, some of it in the form of a
donation to iKhaya Le Langa, a movement to sustainably uplift Cape
Town’s oldest township, which is Langa.
In recent years, Langa had undergone a considerable revival, in
particular, the Langa Quarter which hosted 13 streets, 500 homes and
7000 people.
Now, it is a hub of cultural activity, jazz, street art, dance, and a
top-rated place to stay for tourists and locals alike. The Langa
Quarter is one of SA’s foremost success stories so far, forming part of
the greater iKhaya Le Langa (the house of sun) not-for-profit (NPO),
which aims to revitalise the region as a social enterprise precinct and
cleaner, greener, safer area of the township.
The NPO has accomplished much to date, showing how powerful community-NPO partnerships can be.
Founded by Tony Elvin, of Tony Elvin Associates SA , iKhaya Le Langa
uses people, planet, profit (PPP) principles and sustainable business
tourism to regenerate region, with the ambition to create a multi-racial
social destination.
The most recent development for the NPO is InSTED: The Institute for Sustainable Township Enterprise Development.
This initiative will operate from converted containers donated by YPO, following the recent YPO EDGE.
At the 2019 YPO EDGE Anthony Ginsberg, Managing Director of
GinsGlobal Index Fund and Chairman of YPO Financial Services Network,
said a common trait of leaders, which is evident in the 2019 Global
Leadership survey conducted by YPO (YPO.org) among the CEOs, is a
strong desire to give back and positively impact society.
Each year, business leaders from around the world gather for the YPO
EDGE, the organisation’s premier visionary showcase of thought
leadership and innovation.
For two days, members, convene with world-renowned thought leaders to
address key issues in business, politics, science, technology,
philanthropy and the humanities. The event, hosted on a different
continent each year, offers exceptional educational opportunities for
attendees while helping the global leaders of today shape the world of
tomorrow.
Paul Berman, Host City Chair of YPO EDGE says, “Collaborating with
Tony on the INSTED project is a way to sustainably entrench the
inspiration, hope and energy of YPO EDGE in a way that will bring
lasting benefits to the community of Langa and South Africa as a whole.
We believe that as a research and development facility, InSTED will
promote the partnerships and insights that could create real solutions
to the deep problems perpetuating from poverty. Langa Quarter is an
excellent example of how much can be achieved when we all work
together.”
InSTED will be an important way to communicate and implement all the
NPO’s learnings from the last ten years, including: developing Langa
Quarter into a prototype Social Enterprise Precinct through: proactively
zoning homes for hospitality; organizing the Langa Quarter
neighbourhood watch for a cleaner, greener, safer area; running the
Ambassador Program, which assists community members with job readiness
and personal development, to help divert unemployed youth away from
gangs, into full-time training and community-building activities.
Other focus areas include: Continuing Community-based Tourism (CBT)
Innovation by: developing the Langa Quarter Homestay Hotel, which is a
40-bed ‘homestay’ hotel consisting of 18 homes, with Airbnb endorsement
for accelerated growth; and running the Inter Community Tourism Agency,
which advocates for tourism in a township, not township tourism.
Additionally, InSTED will house the Academic Partnership Centre, as a
resource centre for interns, researchers and students, and it will
become a tech innovation hub, supporting Project UBU, which looks at
digital currency opportunities; YeboFresh, which assists with low-cost
township home food delivery; Micro Investing, which seeks opportunities
to use blockchain as a way to invest in Africa; and Quantum Economics,
which applies quantum physics principles to
economics.
The take out from this success story is that South African townships
have all the potential to become social enterprise precinct hubs of
industry and activity. This requires strong private-public partnerships,
with continued community buy-in.
Elvin says, “The tipping-point principle applies here. If we can
create cleaner, greener, safer neighbourhoods, with vibrant art and
music that celebrates the history and culture of our communities, we can
catalyse ongoing job creation through sustained tourism. Partnering
with Airbnb has helped bring credibility to accelerate the growth of our
Homestay Hotel. Working with community ambassadors has been critical to
making Langa safer. Joining forces with the Inter Community Tourism
Agency has been essential to making sure tourism is ‘done’ respectfully
and sustainably.”
And the big lesson is that, it is going to take all of us
collectively joining hands to really make a sustainable difference to
our country and its most vulnerable communities.
Eziko empowers jobless by teaching them how to take heat in the kitchen
Sbongiseni Tshazi and Sandile Sayedwa enjoy a drink at Eziko Restaurant in Langa. | HANNES THIART
Published Oct 5, 2021
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It has a training arm where even non-matriculants can learn to become top chefs
CAPE
TOWN - Eziko restaurant, one of the Cape’s top eateries, showcases
Africa’s offerings to the world including home cooked traditional food.
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This 80 seater facility offers a wide variety of traditional African food as well as Western cuisine.
Located
in the heart of Langa Township just 15km from the centre of Cape Town,
Eziko also prides itself for its educational and training arm, the Eziko
Cooking and Catering School.
The school was established in 1996 by former Langa High School teacher and resident, Victor Mguqulwa.
This
entrepreneur’s on a mission to address the high unemployment rate
blighting township communities, which according to Mguqulwa, cannot be
solved by formal education alone.
Mguqulwa says a community can only develop if its people start taking responsibility for their problems and their future.
He attests to the approach that you must, 'teach people how to fish rather than catch the fish for them'.
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And
so Eziko school is dedicated to providing people with life and
career-oriented skills in cooking and catering, and to “empower” them to
find employment so they can provide for themselves and their families.
Students
are taught in a spacious room with tables and chairs for theory, and a
kitchen for practicals. Eziko has produced many accomplished chefs over
the years, one of them being Ntlalo Jordan, the chef and owner of Jordan
Ways of Cooking in Langa.
Students are carefully selected and
begin their training at the Eziko Cooking and Catering Training Centre
where they gain some basic experience in the Eziko Restaurant.
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They are then placed in one of Eziko’s sponsoring catering establishments for an intensive 6-month programme.
The
business's motto of 'come share the taste of Africa! - Eziko
Restaurant', has proven to be a testament to its ability to offer best
in African cuisine.
Eziko has won numerous awards and one of the
highlights of this 25 year old institution, was when former president
Nelson Mandela gave Eziko a certificate of appreciation in 2000. It is
an accolade that rightfully holds pride of place for the restaurant.
Jordan
speaks highly of the experience he gained after his training at Eziko,
and how it enabled him to open his own restaurant. “I did my
three-months internship at Cape Town International Convention Centre.
After that, I have worked in different places gaining experience. I even
went as far as Liberia in 2018. And on my return, I decided to open my
own restaurant.”
Eziko doesn't require its students to have passed
matric, as many children from the townships drop out of high school for
various reasons.
This is rooted in the belief that: “Not having
matric does not mean someone cannot pursue his or her desired career.
That is why we don’t focus on academic results. And besides, not
everybody can be an academic. That is why there are vocational studies
like a chef.”
“We are happy to be here, we are here to
compete, to win,” says Eziko Cooking and Catering Training Centre
director, Eugene Roxo.
Timmy Kwebulana continues to shape the African world of entertainment.
Born in Cape Town in 1941, “Bra Timmy” became involved in theatre and film as a result of his early passion for music.
After touring and recording with Dollar Brand (Abdullah Ibrahim) in 1977, he was hired as an actor by the Space Theatre.
Bra Timmy, who hails from Langa, Cape Town, worked also with
legendary South African writer, playwright and director Barney Simon, at
the Market Theatre in the 1980s.
Bra Timmy started acting in The Question.
In 1975, Bra Timmy went to London with the musical KwaZulu where they showcased African culture in its best form.
Bra Timmy performed in Zakes Mda’s plays Dead End, We Shall Sing for
the Fatherland and Holy Moses and All That Jazz at the Market Theatre.
He also did The Mighty Gents and Call Me Woman. Earlier in the 1970s,
Bra Timmy had worked for The Space, performing in Lysistrata S.A., A
Flea in her Ear, Nongogo, Patty Hearst and Three Courteline Comedies.
He went on to work with Barney Simon at the Market Theatre in the
1980s, helping to create and performing in Born in the RSA (1985).
Bra Timmy appeared in the Little Theatre’s production of Somewhere on the Border in 1987.
His film and TV experience includes The First Time Settlers, Drome van Gruis, Westgate II, 1922 and Nag van Vrees.
Bra Timmy has appeared in Kwasindwezama, Abakwazidenge, Ingqumbo
Yeminyanya, Unyana Womntu, Uthando Lwethu, Shooting Stars, Forced Love
and Isikizi among others.
And From 2007 to 2010, he portrayed Bra Vic Tau, the founder of Shooting Stars F.C., on the e.tv drama series Shooting Stars.
Bra Timmy also appeared as a guest star in an episode of Mzansi Magic’s Chandies in 2012.
The Namibian newspaper in its March 12, 1999 article Seen On The Pot
Of Kin, says of Bra Timmy, “HIS contrite expression has become a
household phenomenon on Namibian television as the shebeen owner serving
a local beer to Namibian sporting heroes, Harry Simon and Elifas
Shivute.
He is none other than the South African veteran actor, Timmy
Kwebulana, currently on location with the cast of Kin. This is the Cape
Town-based actor’s fourth visit to the country, which he considered as
his adopted land.
Timmy is playing the supporting role of a straight policeman, Nangola
who protects the wildlife in the north of Namibia against poachers. The
only thing which bothers him at the moment is the grueling sun in the
Namib desert.
Previous visits to Namibia include acting in movies that were shot
all over the country to as far as Grootfontein. These movies are; “On
the Road”, “Red Elephant” and “Heart of the Matter.”
Kwebulana admits that the stage is his preference because he started
off his rich and varied career as a stage actor in Johannesburg. His
first big break came when he got a part in the hit-play, “Meropa” from
the pen of Louis Burke and Joan Brickhill. The play became a cult and
was staged for eight months at the Tricycle Theatre in London. From
there is was taken to the world famous theatre festival in Edinburgh,
Scotland. This was the actor’s first overseas visit.
The film was written by Elaine Procter from London and is produced by Bard Entertainment from the UK.
At a time when stage work was very scarce for most Black actors,
television was introduced in South Africa. Suddenly opportunities
blossomed. Like many other struggling actors at the time, Kwebulana
auditioned and got his first part on the black box in the series, “Back
to Back”. This new found career rocketed him to fame in other television
series, sitcoms and dramas such as “Seventh Street,” dealing with the
fashion world and “Double Shift” in which he played a defense lawyer to a
man who killed his wife.
Timmy also did radio and television commercials for the South African
and Namibian markets and played cameo parts in the many international
movies that were shot in Johannesburg. His first big movie part was in
the original King Solomon’s Mines, not the revised one with Richard
Chamberlain in it, he is quick to add.’
Due to the ever rising crime-rate in Johannesburg, the legendary
actor and father of four children, packed up and permanently moved to
Cape Town. He also runs a theatre company and on his return from Namibia
he is organising an international theatre festival for community groups
from all over Africa,” reported The Namibian.
In the sitcom Scoop Schoombie, Kwebulana played TJ Mthembu, The
Bystander’s spineless, golf-addicted editor who represents the greatest
of white fears: that there is an emergent, black manager-class of office
buskers who would rather be outside playing sport than inside doing
work.
