The making of a man begins

By Tebogo Molefe
MADODA MNGUNI is only 18 and on his way to becoming a man. He is a learner at Phandimfundo Secondary School in Etwatwa, Daveyton. At his age he is already a member of Men’s Forum, something which does not happen often, especially in the townships.

Madoda is in grade 11, stays at home with his mother and his seven siblings. Apart from his school work, he helps with household chores and takes his siblings to the clinic when they are sick. His mother works full time so she can’t take kids to the clinic herself so he has to stay out of school sometimes in order to do this.

At school he is a workaholic, he tells WANcareerlife. His subjects are Physical sciences, Life sciences, Mathematics, Life orientation, English and Isizulu. ‘’My school is the best all-over by far.’’ He grins, and equally,‘’ he goes on ‘’there are good students in the school. Our teachers treat you by the way you behave, I had to repeat grade 10 because I did not listen to teachers and did not do my school work. As a young boy we think we know better than our teachers. We think we are man and all grown up; we don’t listen and then start disrespecting teachers because of peer pressure. So I thought I was smart but I was not and was wasting my time but I have learned my lesson.’’

Phandimfundo does not have career guidance classes but teachers are always there to give advice. ‘’I want to apply for a bursary so that after matric I can go to university to study medicine and be a doctor because I think doctors are not patient enough these days, so I want to help people because it is something that I love doing. The University of Johannesburg is his first choice but should things not go his way he will go to Pretoria. ‘’The University of Tshwane will be where I will do my degree, ‘’he goes on. ‘’My mother is very supportive of my career choice and she is always there for me and encouraging me. ‘’I can talk to her about anything,’’ he adds that his father does not stay with them but stays in the same area at my grandmother’s house and he does not see him often enough because ‘’ I have school work to do every day after school.

Madoda was chosen to represent his school at the Men’s Forum in an event held at the Stompi Skosana Hall with Sabelo Ndala, a fellow learner. Men’s Forum is an initiative that teaches men and boys how to love, care, protect and respect woman and themselves at home, schools, the workplace and in the community. His Men’s Forum task at the school is to encourage other boys about a positive life style, to talk about issues they face on a daily basis as young men. He smiles; ‘’I want to let them know that they must not let their past determine their future.’’

He was not involved with the Men’s Forum before the event and is also not involved in any youth projects. However, he was involved in a community center which he did not want to mention, he went to the center after school where he helped to wash dishes and also do some other things but he left because there was a lot of ‘politics’ at the center and also due to school commitments. He is very honored and proud to be chosen to represent the school at the Men’s Forum and he plans to continue to encourage other young men to talk about their problems and believe in themselves, no matter what situations they come across. He hopes that with the help of his assistant Sanele they will achieve their goal.

The school’s principal, Thomas Mlotha, was not aware of Madoda and is not familiar with him. He only became aware of him after the Men’s Forum event, ‘’it is therefore impossible for me to comment about his situation here at the school,’’ he remarks. But he likes what he is doing for the school and thinks it’s a good thing for him to be involved in. ‘’I support the Men’s Forum and I think it’s a good thing. Woman are indeed oppressed by men, some woman, surprisingly believe that men should discipline them, even at home it’s believed that the fathers should be the ones that discipline children when they do wrong. But, I believe men leave it too late, they should know form a young age how to treat woman because woman and children are abused daily, gays and lesbian attacks are also on the rise. I think men should stop meeting to talk about soccer, they should rather talk about these issues because how a young men behaves at the school and in the community starts from home.’’

The principal says he often sees boys queuing to go to the deputy principal’s (Selby Nkosi) office to be disciplined because of their behavior at the school and that is unfortunate. ‘’But luckily my deputy is always there to talk to the learners and their parents to find out what’s the cause of their behavior so that he can understand and help them better.’’

Etwatwa's rising star

By Tebogo Molefe 
Music maestro Andrew set to conquer world. Although he is only 19 years of age, he has far bigger plans for the music industry than his age suggests… 

Andrew is a music producer, a DJ, an event management specialist, and he manages dancers. He is also a director of Betla Melody with Kabeli Lichaba. Betla Melody is an artists’ management company which hopes to unearth world-class musicians and artists out the dusty township of Etwatwa, just outside Daveyton in Benoni. He has worked with Neziswa Stungu from Cape Town, Infinity Boys, TP Rock, and many others. As a DJ he has played at The Moon in Benoni and Disoufeng in Soweto, The Miller Party and at many other places. “By accident,” he quips,” I have also played at venues where ladies strip to the bone. “I did not know that ladies took off their clothes at that venue, I only found out when I got there but, what the heck, I continued playing. It was eye-catching and exhilarating and they paid me good money. 

Andrew’s music has been published previously, and 4 of his songs are currently on the internet since the beginning of this month. These songs, which he says are going to burn the dance floors in Mzansi and the world, are Amaphupho featuring Neziswa, Pareke, a Tsonga song, Lengoma and Kudala Ndi Kulindile. Most of his songs are Xhosa because most of the time the vocalists are always Xhosa speaking, so it’s easier for them to sing. When asked about his previously published songs, he said he did make money but was robbed by unscrupulous administrators whom he did not want to name. He says the music industry is very challenging because it’s hard getting your songs played because some radio DJ’S look for kick-backs.

Andrew, when asked if he has any groupies, he smiles shyly and remarks, “Of course, girls will always follow superstars. And again, people stare, always.” But he thinks money will not change him. “I am very shy and no, I don’t think money will change me because what I see in clubs is how people spend their money, especially the youth. He developed the love for music at the age of ten, and his favourite instruments are pianno and guitar. He loves all types of music but he prefers house and jazz. “I do music for the love of it and not for money,” he says. He adds that his role model was dj Cleo but now he feels like he can do more than him.

Before the fame, as a child he went to Bafochiko Primary School and later went to Dr Harry Gwala Secondary School to do Grade 10 and 11. His favourite subject was Electrical Subject because he loves it. He would love to design electronic gadgets one day, like something that has never been created before. Andrew did not finish school leaving after doing only Grade 11. “I am not planning to go back to school,” he points out. “From a very young age I knew what I wanted and that was music and, leaving school was a good thing because I discovered secrets about the music industry. My parents were disappointed though. They did not understand why I had to leave school and were not supportive of my career choice, and that makes me feel sad.”

Andrew is not married, has no kids yet and is “in between relationships”. He says he can’t predict if he will marry a musician one day, but when he gets married it will be an agreement between him and that person because marriage is for two people. If he were to do collaborations any time soon it would be with Black Coffee and Black Motion. He also wants to produce Lira and Wizz Masuku, a Mozambican artist. Andrew’s maiden album is coming out in September this year and he is working very hard for both himself and for Betla Melody. “The world better watch out for us…we have arrived.”